Security officials lauded Turkey's success in combatting the illicit traffic in drugs, calling the drug trade a crime against humanity. Turkey, once a major transit country, has achieved this at a time when the trade is becoming an ever more serious problem worldwide. The amount of heroin seized by Turkish security forces rose sharply in 1995 to 3.4 tons, more than a fifth of all the heroin captured worldwide, and up from a Turkish haul of 1.6 tons in 1994, Reuters said. European countries last year seized 7,288 kg of heroin and 231,645 kg of hashish out of a worldwide total of 15,681 kg and 784,621 kg respectively. Most drugs from Turkey find their way to Western Europe either overland through Greece and then by sea or directly on ships from Istanbul, Reuters reported.
Iranian citizens appear to lead drug trafficking in Turkey.
International cooperation 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 was been established by the European Council. The group fights the illegal drug trade and drug addiction. These three were joined later by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan.