Opioids

Police have arrested a prominent leader of a heroin trafficking gang and another member, both 25, after the latter was nabbed at the intercity bus station in Thessaloniki in northern Greece.

Two men were to face a prosecutor in Patra, western Greece, Friday after police discovered half a kilogram of heroin hidden in the lights of the vehicle they were traveling in.
Working on a tip-off, officers of the local anti-narcotics division stopped the truck on the Patra-Corinth highway in Achaia and discovered the drugs with the help of a sniffer dog.

Turkish and Dutch police seized 2,384 kilograms of heroin in joint operations across five countries, Turkey's Interior Ministry said on March 4. 

According to information received by the ministry, an organization was identified that was found to be trafficking drugs to mostly European countries.

For thousands of years, drugs have been part of culture, society and human experience. Worldwide drug use statistics provide an interesting insight into how we treat narcotic drugs and the addicts.

Police at Aegean province of İzmir's international airport detained five Iranian nationals trying to smuggle heroin in capsules hidden in their stomachs, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Feb. 19.

A total of 18 people have been arrested by police in central Athens in two separate crackdowns on crime in as many days in the areas of Omonia Square and Exarchia, the Hellenic Police (ELAS) announced on Monday.

Turkey seized over 10.15 kilograms (about 22 pounds) of heroin in the northwestern province of Bolu, a police source said on Jan. 21.

Anti-narcotics police, assisted by a sniffer dog, searched a suspicious car on a motorway in Bolu, recovering heroin from the trunk of the vehicle, said the source who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Turkish police seized on Oct. 17 over 40 kilograms (around 88 pounds) of heroin in the eastern province of Van, according to security sources.

A sweep of the Aghios Stefanos prison near Patra, western Greece, has turned up quantities of drugs as well as 11 makeshift knives and five cellphones, which are forbidden in penitentiaries.

The inspection began late on Tuesday night and was completed in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Iran seized 8.8 tonnes of drugs destined for Europe and busted one of the three largest crime groups for drug trafficking, police officials reported on Thursday.