ANKARA, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police detained 370 suspects in a nationwide operation against criminal organizations allegedly producing illegal tobacco products, a cabinet minister said Thursday.
Anti-smuggling and organized crime teams raided 672 places in the campaign dubbed "Operation Fog," Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Cigarette bootlegging appears to be an increasingly serious problem in Türkiye due to rampant inflation and tax surges that make cigarettes more expensive.
Türkiye introduced a legal amendment in December last year to combat illicit tobacco production and sales. With the revision, people may face up to two to five years of imprisonment for unauthorized selling of tobacco.
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