Several Taiwanese were detained in Turkey after allegedly taking betel nuts into the country, which regards them as containing illegal drugs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.
The Chinese Consulate-General in Istanbul on Thursday said in a statement that Chinese and Taiwanese were detained upon arrival in Turkey for carrying betel nuts.
In Taipei, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) confirmed that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Mission in Ankara since March has received several reports of Taiwanese being detained by local authorities for carrying betel nuts.
Photo: Yeh Yung-chien, Taipei Times
The mission has asked Turkish authorities to respect the rights of the suspects, and the authorities offered them attorneys and interpreters, Ou said.
While Taiwan’s diplomatic personnel had applied to visit the detained Taiwanese, Turkey’s detention centers are not open to visitors due to COVID-19 restrictions, she said.
The cases have entered judicial proceedings, and the ministry would continue to monitor developments, she said.
The mission would provide assistance to the suspects and their families, she said.
People who travel to Turkey must not take betel nuts, as they would be infringing on local laws, she added.
While Turkey’s criminal code does not stipulate a specific ban on betel nuts, authorities list products as prohibited articles if they contain arecoline hydrobromide.
Turkish law says that people who manufacture, import or export illegal drugs face prison terms of 20 to 30 years, while those found to have distributed drugs or to be involved in drug transactions face jail terms of more than 10 years.
Additional reporting by CNA
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