Turkish police seize heroine arresting 12

Police in Turkey have seized one-hundred-and-forty kilos of heroin and detained twelve people suspected of planning to smuggle the drugs into western Europe.

In a statement, police said the drugs, which have a street value of three-and-a-half million dollars, were smuggled into Turkey from Iran.

The suspects were detained in several parts of Istanbul.

It was not immediately clear when the drugs seizure took place. Turkey is a major transit point for drugs smuggled from the Middle East and Asia to Europe and North America.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service