ANKARA - Operation "chemist" covering 10 cities in Turkey revealed that 120 million USD worth of fuel products were illegally trafficked last year.
The operation, carried out by Customs Undersecretariat Office in cities of Izmit, Bilecik, Afyon, Bursa, Batman, Van, Antalya, Adana, Ankara and Sakarya, kicked off on April 19th, 2007.
120 million USD worth of fuel has been trafficked last year, stated the officials. Customs officers stated that they started the investigation upon tip offs and determined firms that produce fuel products illegally. The firms were importing solvent and its derivative products in order to produce fuel, said the sources.
State Minister Kursat Tuzmen said the operation was of very big scope and it was carried out in a very successful manner.
Tuzmen noted that they have been informed that the illegal fuel trafficking might be related to terrorist organization PKK, and continued, "we are searching whether the firms or people related to the trafficking have any connection with terrorist organizations."