Turkey seeks to bust vast smuggling racket bringing in meat from Syria: Minister

ISTANBUL – Turkish authorities have launched a major operation aimed at crushing a suspected gang that illegally brought in over 1,000 tons of beef from Syria, the customs minister said, describing the haul as Turkey’s biggest-ever smuggling case.Acting on a tip-off, investigators last week carried out raids on five storage spaces in the southern city of Mersin, where 1,044 tons of smuggled red meat had been stored, Turkish media quoted Customs Minister NurettinCanikli as saying.