TURK DRUGS POLICEMAN SAYS SMUGGLERS HAD HIM FIRED

ISTANBUL, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The police officer heading Istanbul's drugs
squad was transferred to another department on Tuesday and alleged that
drug traffickers had bribed senior Turkish officers to remove him.

The Interior Ministry said it had appointed financial inspectors to probe
the charges brought by Ferruh Tankus, former head of narcotics police in
Turkey's biggest city.

Tankus said he had been transferred to a less prominent department after
drugs smugglers alarmed at his success paid $4 million to unnamed senior
officers.

"In 1998 alone we hauled in five tonnes of drugs in Istanbul, this is why
this happened," he told Reuters.

Tankus put forth his allegations in a news conference he held shortly after
he was notified of his transfer on Tuesday morning.

Anatolian news agency said Tankus had been suspended from duty following
his allegations.

"Two financial inspectors have been appointed by Interior Minister Kutlu
Aktas to investigate the charges put forth by Ferruh Tankus," the ministry
said in a statement.

Turkey is a key point on the so-called "Balkans route" for drug trafficking
from Pakistan and Afghanistan to western Europe. In 1997, Turkish police
seized 2.5 tonnes of heroin bound for Europe.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski