Ankara has sent stern wanings to the Kurdish leaders of northern Iraq about attending the Damascus summit. The warning notes that attending the meeting will more than strain ties with Turkey, and possibly delay a final solution to the instability in the region. The police have detained the truck driver for questioning and are seeking four brothers in connection with the find. The amount of heroin seized by Turkish security forces rose sharply in 1995 to 3.4 tonnes, more than a fifth of all the heroin captured worldwide, and up from a Turkish haul of 1.6 tonnes in 1994. Most drugs from Turkey find their way to western Europe either overland to Greece and then by sea or directly on ships from Istanbul.
Iranian citizens appear to lead drug trafficking in Turkey.
Turkey has continued to work with many other countries in the worldwide struggle against illegal drugs. To this end, Turkey has signed protocols and agreements with more than 36 countries, and works with international organizations such as Interpol. Turkey belongs to the 25-member Pompidou Group which has been established by the European Council. The group fights the illegal drug trade and drug addiction. A parliamentary delegation headed by Tapsell will visit Kalemli, DYP leader Tansu Ciller, RP leader Necmettin Erbakan and Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz.