A photo showing seized rocket warheads seized in a truck in southern province of Adana on Thursday. (Photo: İHA)
TODAYSZAMAN.COM, İSTANBUL
Turkish police are still investigating allegations that the truck carrying the seized rocket warheads and 10 launchpads was heading to al-Qaeda-affiliated groups in Syria, and Coş said the seizure of the weapons disproves claims that Turkey is aiding extremist groups in its war-torn neighbor.
Coş said the truck was on its way to Hatay province to be taken to the other side of the Turkey-Syria border, adding that the investigation will reveal where the seized weapons were heading. Ten suspects, he continued, have been taken into custody for their alleged role in the production and transport of the weapons.
Police are also working to trace the ammunition to its source and looking into the backgrounds of the truck’s owner, Lütfi K., passenger Ali Ç. and a few others connected to the truck.
The truck was registered in central Turkey’s Konya province and was en route to Adana when an anonymous call recorded at around 8 a.m. tipped off the police that the truck was transporting a drug shipment. Unmarked police cars trailed the truck until it was received by an unidentified manufacturing firm in the metal industrial zone of Adana, 200 kilometers from the Turkish-Syrian border.
Police dogs first searched the truck for narcotics. But when the police opened the trailer, they discovered the truck was full of weapons.