Turkish labs 'refining ISIS heroin for sale on streets of UK'' Russian drugs squad claims
TURKISH laboratories are turning Islamic State (ISIS) opium into high-grade heroin to be sold on the streets of Britain, according to explosive claims made by Russia's drug squad chief.
Turkish labs are refining ISIS opium, Russia has claimed
Moscow investigator Viktor Ivanov says he has found conclusive evidence that Turkish drugs labs are helping the terrorist group rake in millions as the war of words between the the two countries continues to escalate.
He told journalists that the the slick operation is directly helping ISIS in its bid to establish an evil Islamic Caliphate, saying a "spike" in the group's number of fighters can be directly linked to successful shipments.
Relations between Moscow and Ankara have frozen over in the aftermath of the shooting down of a Russian fighter jet over Syria, which Vladimir Putin has likened to an act of war.
The latest claims are said to be based on the results of a joint probe into drug smuggling carried out by Russian and Afghan investigators.
ISIS is increasingly relying on the drugs trade for its income
The terror group has seen its oil revenues slashed by bombing
The spike in ISIS fighters corresponds with the annual increase of drug smuggling
Mr Ivanov told an anti-narcotics committee meeting in Moscow: "The cargo traveled through Badakhshan-Doshi-Bamiyan-Herat, then further through Iran and into Turkey, where the opium was processed in well-equipped laboratories…into high quality heroin, and then was to be sent to Europe and Russia.
“The spike in ISIS fighters corresponds with the annual increase of drug smuggling in the Middle East, which is confirmed by the growing number of heroin seizures in the region."
The operation got under way in mid-December and was designed to help close down heroin smuggling routes into Russia and Europe.
There has been a war of words between Russia and Turkey
It was carried out by Afghanistan’s Kabul Gates anti-drug unit with intelligence support from the Federal Drug Control Service (FKSN).
Police who stopped an Afghan truck travelling towards Turkey allegedly found 600kg of opium destined for laboratories, where it would be turned into heroin to be sold on the streets of Britain.
According to FKSN investigators ISIS has used drug trafficking to boost its number four-fold over the last year. And the terrorists could increasingly turn to the sale of narcotics for profit and Western airstrikes destroy more and more oilfields under their control.
Putin 'revolted' by Turkey's downing of Russian plane
Today a report from an independent think tank calculated that the jihadis' so-called Caliphate has shrunk by 14 per cent this year due to airstrikes and strong gains by Kurdish forces.
Russia's president Vladimir Putin has vowed to wipe out the maniacal terrorists and has said he would even use a nuclear missile to destroy their de facto capital Raqqa if necessary.