By Izzet Taskiran and Deniz Cicek Palabiyik
ISTANBUL (AA) – More than one and a half tons of illegal drugs destined for the U.S. were seized at the Istanbul Airport on Friday, according to security sources.
The 1.745 tons of drugs — with an estimated 70 million Turkish Lira ($12 million) market value — shipped from Indonesia were detected by a sniffer dog at the airport.
It was the record amount of illicit drug ever seized at any Turkish airport.
Following the inspection, the drugs were revealed to be kratom, a herbal substance of Southeast Asian origin which was made of the leaves of an indigenous tree.
Subject to numerous health warnings, kratom has been banned in most of the countries in the world and is known being highly addictive and linked to numerous deaths.
