PKK controls 80 percent of narcotics market in Europe, Turkish police says

ANKARA

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) controls 80 percent of the narcotics market in Europe, according to a new Turkish police report.The report, titled “Turkey Drug Report,” states that the PKK earns $1.5 billion annually from heroin production in northern Iraq, daily Milliyet reported on Aug. 29.Turkey is among the countries directly affected by the PKK’s drug network due to its geographical location and young population, while it also used by the group as a transit country, the report states.“The heroin material produced in Asia is transferred to the West and synthetic drugs and chemicals produced in Europe are transferred through Turkey to countries in the Arabian Peninsula,” it adds.In the report’s “Narcoterrorism” section, the police state that drugs are a source of income for terrorist groups and the PKK’s “most profitable criminal activity” is smuggling drugs.According to the police, the PKK is involved in each and every stage of narcotics trade, from raw production of drugs in Pakistan to distillation in Iraq and sale in Europe.“From the testimonies of detained suspects, it is understood that the PKK gets a share from heroin production per kilogram from villages on the Iran-Iraq border. The money that the PKK gets from drug transfers under the name of ‘taxes’ and the income it receives from drug smuggling in the regions under PKK control in our neighboring countries is one of the most significant sources of finance for the group,” the states.It adds that the PKK “has a significant role in the transfer of drugs to Europe from Iraq and Iran.”“The PKK terrorist group’s members have an important role in the European narcotics market. It has been stated in international reports that 80 percent of the narcotics market in Europe is under the PKK’s control,” the report reads.Referring to EUROPOL’s Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT), the police report states that the PKK is involved in drug smuggling “in order to finance its terrorist activities.”In addition, the PKK is “earning profit from the transfer, distribution and sale of drugs and in return it offers drug dealers to be mediators in order for European countries to provide them with security.”Police said the PKK produces heroin in northern Iraq with unprocessed morphine obtained from Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan and thus earns $1.5 billion annually.