Turkish security forces seize huge amount of heroin in northwest

ANKARA, Sept. 23 -- Turkish security forces seized 134.5 kg of heroin in the country's northwest on Wednesday, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

Acting on a tip-off, police teams stopped a loaded truck carrying synthetic lube oil in Ipsala town of the Edirne province and found the drugs hidden inside the fuel tank, said the report.

The Macedonian driver of the truck, which was traveling from Macedonia to Istanbul, was detained in the operation and an investigation is underway, it said.

Turkey is a key transit route for smuggling drugs from Asia and the Middle East to markets in western Europe.

In 2008, Turkish security forces waged a total of 15,000 operations against drugs, confiscating more than 15 tons of heroin,39 tons of hashish and 1.4 million ecstasy pills and arresting 32,000 suspects, according to the Anatolia agency.