Drug Trafficking

yazarı lawyerfbc

açık Ekim 27, 2025

Executive Summary

In Turkey, drug trafficking is primarily regulated by Turkish Penal Code (TCK) Article 188, while possession for personal use is addressed under TCK 191, together with special statutes (e.g., Law No. 2313) and procedural tools in the Ceza Muhakemesi Kanunu (CMK). Penalties vary based on act type (manufacture/import/export vs. domestic supply), substance, location (e.g., near schools), and participation (three or more persons, or organised crime). The Yargıtay Ceza Genel Kurulu (CGK) has developed clear criteria to distinguish personal use from supply, emphasising packaging, scales, quantity/purity, concealment, and corroborative indicators.

1) Legal Framework in Turkey

1.1 Core offences (TCK 188)

Manufacture, import, export (188/1): 20–30 years’ imprisonment + 2,000–20,000 day judicial fine.
Domestic supply & related acts (188/3): selling, offering for sale, giving, transporting, securing/sequestering (depola), purchasing, accepting, possessing for commercial purposes—not less than 10 years + 1,000–20,000 day judicial fine. Minimum 15 years if the recipient is a child.
Aggravations (188/4): penalty increased by half where the drugs are heroin, cocaine, morphine, synthetic cannabinoids and derivatives, or base morphine, or where the offence occurs within 200 metres of schools, dormitories, hospitals, barracks or places of worship and similar facilities.
Participation/organisation (188/5):
– Three or more persons acting together: sentence increased by half.
– Within an organised crime framework: sentence doubled.
Precursors (188/7): penalties for import/manufacture/transfer etc. of controlled precursors.

1.2 Personal use (TCK 191)

Personal-use possession, purchase, acceptance, or use: 2–5 years’ imprisonment; however, public prosecution is deferred for 5 years and at least 1 year of probation (denetimli serbestlik) is imposed; the probation can be extended up to one additional year in 3-month tranches. Violations (e.g., persistent non-compliance with treatment/probation) trigger prosecution.

1.3 Related offences and special law

TCK 190: facilitating or publicly encouraging drug use; doctrinal and case-law clarifications exist on what counts as “facilitation” vs. mere joint consumption.
TCK 192: effective remorse —before authorities learn of the crime, a trafficker who informs on co-offenders or stash/lab locations may face no punishment; after discovery, substantial sentence reductions may apply depending on the assistance.
Law No. 2313 (Control of Narcotic Substances): plant-based prohibitions and licensing framework (e.g., cannabis for resin; import/export controls).

2) What Counts as Trafficking Under Turkish Law?

Under TCK 188/3, beyond “selling,” seemingly non-commercial acts—transporting, storing, purchasing, accepting, possessing—may still constitute trafficking when tied to commercial intent. This means that quantities, packaging, scales, and communication records can pivot a case from TCK 191 to TCK 188.

Aggravating contexts (188/4) turn on drug type (e.g., heroin, cocaine, synthetic cannabinoids) and location (e.g., near schools). The recipient being a child guarantees a minimum 15-year custodial threshold.

3) Yargıtay’s Use-vs-Supply Criteria (Key to the Borderline Cases)

The Yargıtay Ceza Genel Kurulu (CGK) has repeatedly held that distinguishing personal use from trafficking hinges on purpose inferred from objective criteria, not quantity alone. Indicators include:

Packaging in many small, equal “fişek” packets;
Presence of precision scales and packaging materials;
The place and manner of concealment (e.g., remote depots vs. easily accessible storage at home);
Diverse substances held together;
Witness/buyer statements corroborated by other evidence;
Quantity and purity aligned with personal consumption patterns (e.g., small grams of heroin kept at home).

In a hallmark CGK decision (E. 2017/9-378), 0.07 g heroin found at home, with no scales, packaging paraphernalia, or other corroboration, did not suffice to infer supply; the Court re-qualified the act as personal-use possession.

Turkey’s bar journals also emphasise evidence-collection quality and avoiding “pattern-based” convictions unsupported by concrete, lawfully obtained proof—echoing CGK’s approach.

4) Procedure & Evidence: CMK Tools and Controlled Delivery

4.1 Intercept & technical surveillance (CMK)

CMK 135 (communications surveillance): requires concrete indications of strong suspicion and subsidiarity (no other way to obtain evidence), and is limited to catalogue crimes (including TCK 188). Strict rules govern destruction/limited use of recordings.
CMK 140 (technical surveillance): allows covert video/audio capture in public/work spaces for catalogue crimes (including TCK 188) where necessary and proportionate; time-limited and not applicable inside dwellings.

4.2 Controlled delivery

Controlled delivery is a regulated method enabling monitored transit to identify higher-level actors. In Turkey, its practice is framed by the Controlled Delivery Regulation and international cooperation instruments; operational steps (e.g., sample-taking, swap/substitution under judicial orders) are detailed in the implementing rules.

Practice tip: Orders must align with CMK (e.g., CMK 119 for searches) and respect chain-of-custody; otherwise, suppression risks arise. Media-reported joint operations show Turkish authorities using controlled delivery alongside foreign counterparts in container shipments.

5) Sentencing in Practice: What Drives the Outcome?

Courts weigh:

Role & organisation: courier vs. organiser/financier; three-person rule (↑½) and organised crime (×2).
Substance & locus: heroin/cocaine/synthetic cannabinoids/base-morphine (↑½); offences within 200 m of schools, hospitals, barracks, places of worship (↑½).
Child recipients: ≥15 years.
Quantity/purity & repeat conduct: impacts upward departure and chain-offence (zincirleme) assessments. (See typical applications in case law summaries.) )
Effective remorse (TCK 192): from full impunity (pre-discovery) to significant mitigation (post-discovery) depending on the quality and results of cooperation.

6) Distinguishing TCK 188 from TCK 191: Practical Checklist

When advocating that a case is TCK 191 (personal use) rather than TCK 188 (trafficking), CGK criteria support arguments based on:

Single lump vs. multiple equal packets;
Absence of scales/packing materials;
Home/accessible storage vs. remote hiding;
No corroborated buyer statements or delivery observations;
Consumption-consistent quantity/purity and drug type;
Defendant’s addiction history and treatment records.

Conversely, to argue TCK 188, show:

Equal-weight packets, scales, unused zip-bags, multiple SIMs/phones, coded chats, cash ledgers;
Surveillance indicating supply behaviour and repeat sales;
Diverse substances inconsistent with personal use alone;
Controlled delivery or undercover purchase proving transactional intent.

7) Personal-Use Cases: Deferral, Probation, and Violations (TCK 191)

A first-time TCK 191 suspect typically sees public prosecution deferred for 5 years with ≥1 year probation (extendable up to +1 year) and, if needed, treatment. Persistent non-compliance with obligations (e.g., failing tests, skipping sessions) triggers filing of the public case. These rules appear both in judicial practice and official texts.

8) Evidence Integrity and Exclusion Risks

Chain of custody: laboratory identity/purity/weight; wet vs. dry weight; contamination risks; sealed packets and serialisation.
Illegally obtained evidence: missing CMK thresholds (e.g., lack of necessity/proportionality for CMK 135/140; dwelling surveillance without warrant) leads to exclusion.
Witness recantation: CGK is wary of uncorroborated, later-recante buyer statements used alone to prove trafficking.

9) Special Law: 2313 and Precursors

Law No. 2313 governs control and licensing (e.g., cannabis cultivated for resin, poppy derivatives) and import/export formalities, supplementing the Penal Code. It interfaces with precursor control and licensing regimes that frequently appear in synthetic-drug investigations.

10) Money Laundering & Asset Recovery

Drug proceeds frequently surface as cash-intensive business revenues, TBML patterns, vehicles/real estate, and crypto. Turkish AML practice is coordinated with FATF standards and MASAK guidance; controlled delivery and international cooperation operate under UN instruments acknowledged by MASAK in its cross-border frameworks.

11) Defence Playbook (Turkey-Focused)

Re-qualification to TCK 191 using CGK criteria; highlight absence of packets/scales, small grams consistent with personal use, and lack of corroboration.
Procedural validity: challenge CMK 135/140 authorisations (necessity, duration, catalogue fit), CMK 119 search basis, and suppression of derivative evidence.
Lab & custody issues: question sampling protocols, net weight determinations, and purity calculations.
Entrapment/overreach concerns: ensure controlled delivery orders were lawful and proportionate; scrutinise any substitution/sampling steps.
TCK 192 leverage: advise on timely, verifiable cooperation that genuinely leads to seizure or identification of co-offenders to unlock immunity/mitigation.

12) Corporate & Logistics Compliance in Turkey

KYC and beneficial ownership checks for new counterparties in logistics/cargo;
Route risk-scoring (high-risk ports/lanes), paperwork mismatch screening;
Incident response: rapid liaison with customs, narcotics units; preserve digital and CCTV evidence;
Data protection & CMK compliance: ensure lawful handover to authorities and confidentiality.

13) Frequently Asked Questions (Turkey)

Q1. Does quantity alone prove trafficking in Turkey?
No. Purpose is key. CGK stresses packaging, scales, location/method of storage, corroborated buyer statements, and context; small, single-packet grams at home often indicate personal use rather than supply.

Q2. What minimums apply under TCK 188?

Manufacture/import/export: 20–30 years.
Domestic supply & related acts: ≥10 years, ≥15 if the recipient is a child. Aggravations may add +½ or ×2 depending on substance and organisation.

Q3. What happens in first-time personal-use cases (TCK 191)?
5-year deferral of prosecution + ≥1 year probation (extendable up to +1 year) and possible treatment. Persistent non-compliance triggers prosecution.

Q4. Are wiretaps and covert video easy to obtain?
No. CMK 135/140 impose strict catalogue-crime limits, necessity, proportionality, and time caps; dwelling surveillance is off-limits to CMK 140.

Q5. Is controlled delivery lawful in Turkey?
Yes, under the Controlled Delivery Regulation and judicial orders (e.g., search under CMK 119 where needed), often in international cooperation settings.

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