Five suspects were detained after almost 450kg of methamphetamine was seized by Turkish anti-narcotics police in Istanbul, officials said on 21 August.

Acting on a tip-off, the police began tracking the suspects involved in drug trafficking and stopped a car and two trucks in Istanbul's Tuzla district, the governor's office said. During the search, the police found 447.5kg of liquid narcotics in 20 drums.

Turkish security forces are frequently launching operations against drug dealers as part of an ongoing nationwide crackdown. Last month, the Istanbul governor's office announced that a total of 8.5 tons of narcotic substances and more than 2.5 million illicit pills had been seized in operations throughout the city since January.