Turkey's geographical location and dynamic population make
it an important market for smuggled products and one of the major
transit countries. In its most basic definition, a smuggled product
corresponds to the products entering a country without permission
or with under-reporting/false declaration.
Products subject to the crime of smuggling comprise a wide range
of sectors from pharmaceuticals to tobacco and alcohol products,
from textiles to phones and car components. In some product groups,
particular conditions are required for the occurrence of the crime
of smuggling, and there are also aggravating provisions.
According to the data of the Ministry of Interior, 420,000
bottles and 795,000 litres of alcohol, and 23 million
pharmaceuticals were seized in 2019 based on smuggling provisions.
The amount of smuggled pharmaceuticals increased by 324% compared
to 2018. Smuggled products that are subjected to trade cause tax
losses for the state. In addition to the
