Turkey Seizes 13 Tons of Drugs from Ship Off Libya

The Turkish coastguard conducted an unprecedented operation to seize 13 tons of marijuana in powdered form from a Bolivia-registered ship off the Libyan port of Tobruk, the interior ministry said Wednesday.

Turkish coastguards followed the Bolivian vessel with a plane and a ship after receiving a tip-off, Turkish official media said, quoting the interior ministry.

The seizure late Tuesday was the first ever anti-narcotics operation by Turkey in international waters, it said. Turkey received authorization for the operation from the Bolivian government, it added.

The statement did not say if there had been contact with any authorities in Libya, which is currently in chaos as rival administrations compete for control of the country.

The Bolivian ship is now being brought by the Turkish coastguard to Turkish territorial waters. Ten suspects of foreign nationality detained on suspicion of drug smuggling in the operation are also being brought to Turkey, it added.