Kismetim-1 incident
Encyclopedia
The Kısmetim-1 incident occurred on December 15, 1992 when members of the Turkish Narcotic Police on Turkish Navy
vessels supported by US officials intercepted the MV Kısmetim-1, a Turkish ocean freighter in Mediterranean international waters. The ship was suspected of being involved in smuggling about 3100 kg (6,834.3 lb) morphine base
into Turkey
. The crew scuttled the ship during the operation.
MV Kısmetim-1 was owned by Osman Ayanoğlu.
The morphine base on the ship, worth millions of dollars, belonged to a consortium of himself and his partners including Şeyhmus Daş and Hüseyin Baybaşin
, all Turkish drug lord
s.
, Turkey
carrying dyestuff to Karachi
, Pakistan
. As the ship docked at the destination port, Celal Kambur, the ship's purser started a conversation with the port policeman Yousuf Chacha. The Pakistani policeman asked the Turkish crew member to deliver a package to Ajman
, a port in the United Arab Emirates
(UAE). The package contained 10 kg (22 lb) heroin at a price of US$1.00 per gram.
Soon after leaving the Port of Karachi
, the captain received a radio message saying that the ship's owner Osman Ayanoğlu was ambushed and murdered. On the way to Port of Ajman before dawn, the captain ordered to pickup goods from a motorboat on high sea, which docked the ship. More than 100 sacks were pulled up into the ship in the darkness. The captain told the crew that the sacks contained nuclear material
for the MKE
The ship arrived in Ajman to unload fertilizer. Celal Kambur met the Pakistani drug dealer and received the money in a restaurant. The delivery of the drug package took place at 23:00 local time the same day by throwing to a boat, which pulled alongside the ship.
The next morning, police raid the ship and found the money of US$10,000 from the drug trade on Celal Kambur. He was tried and found guilty for the drug crime. The ship moored at the port for six months during the trial and was only allowed to leave as the trial ended, and Celal Kambur was put into prison.
Celal Kambur served his heavy prison sentence and was pardoned after nine years by the emir of Ajman, one of the seven emirates of the UAE federation.
, which was forwarding all the relevant information to the Turkish Police. The incident in Ajman was very disappointing for the US and Turkish law enforcement services since they feared the main smuggle would have been revealed.
Finally, the ship passed through the Suez Canal
and sailed into the Mediterranean Sea. Three Turkish Navy warships, the frigate TCG Yıldırım (F 243), the destroyer TCG Savaştepe (D 348), the submarine rescue ship TCG Akın (A 585) and the US destroyer USS Briscoe (DD-977)
carrying Turkish and US narcotic policemen as well as maritime patrol aircraft of type P-3 Orion
deployed from Sicily
intercepted the ship in high sea before she tried to escape to Cyprus
, a country, which Turkey has no good international relations with. Following the four days lasting joint operation, the ship went down with all its load, the nine crew were rescued.
The US and Turkish officials claimed that the crew deliberately sank the ship in order to prevent the capture of the drug load. The ship's crew denied this allegation before the court declaring that the ship sank due to rough sea.
The operation was led on site by Necdet Menzir, director of Istanbul Police Department and Mestan Şener, head of the narcotics bureau. Mehmet Ağar
, director general of the Turkish Police and Ismet Sezgin, minister of interior, were in command of the operation.
, another drug smuggling operation on the sea.
Nejat Daş, son of Şeyhmus Daş, who had carried out the drug trade negotiations in Karachi on behalf of his father, was tried at the 2nd State Security Court (DGM) in Istanbul
and found guilty of drug trafficking. He was charged with 5 years and 10 months of heavy prison sentence. He escaped the prison on November 8, 1994, as he was brought from Sinop Fortress Prison
to the 1st DGM in Istanbul for trial due to his involvement in the Lucky-S incident
.
Turkish Navy
The Turkish Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces.- Ottoman fleet after Mudros :Following the demise of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I, on November 3, 1918, the fleet commander of the Ottoman Navy, Liva Amiral Arif Pasha, ordered all flags to be...
vessels supported by US officials intercepted the MV Kısmetim-1, a Turkish ocean freighter in Mediterranean international waters. The ship was suspected of being involved in smuggling about 3100 kg (6,834.3 lb) morphine base
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
into Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The crew scuttled the ship during the operation.
MV Kısmetim-1 was owned by Osman Ayanoğlu.
The morphine base on the ship, worth millions of dollars, belonged to a consortium of himself and his partners including Şeyhmus Daş and Hüseyin Baybaşin
Hüseyin Baybasin
Hüseyin Baybaşin is a Kurdish drug lord. Once described as "Europe's Pablo Escobar", he is currently serving life sentence in the Netherlands convicted of drug smuggling charges.- Rise to leadership of a drug empire :...
, all Turkish drug lord
Drug lord
A drug lord, drug baron or kingpin is the term used to describe a person who controls a sizable network of persons involved in the illegal drugs trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they might never be directly in possession of something illegal, but are insulated from...
s.
Voyage
MV Kısmetim-1 departed on October 7, 1991 from the Port of Yarımca in İzmitIzmit
İzmit is a city in Turkey, administrative center of Kocaeli Province as well as the Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. The city center has a population of 294.875...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
carrying dyestuff to Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. As the ship docked at the destination port, Celal Kambur, the ship's purser started a conversation with the port policeman Yousuf Chacha. The Pakistani policeman asked the Turkish crew member to deliver a package to Ajman
Ajman
Ajman , also spelt Ujman, is one of the seven emirates constituting the United Arab Emirates . With an area of just 260 square kilometres , Ajman is the smallest emirate by area...
, a port in the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
(UAE). The package contained 10 kg (22 lb) heroin at a price of US$1.00 per gram.
Soon after leaving the Port of Karachi
Port of Karachi
The Port of Karachi is Pakistan's largest and busiest seaport, handling about 60% of the nation's cargo . It is located between the Karachi towns of Kiamari and Saddar, close to the main business district and several industrial areas. The geographic position of the port places it in close...
, the captain received a radio message saying that the ship's owner Osman Ayanoğlu was ambushed and murdered. On the way to Port of Ajman before dawn, the captain ordered to pickup goods from a motorboat on high sea, which docked the ship. More than 100 sacks were pulled up into the ship in the darkness. The captain told the crew that the sacks contained nuclear material
Nuclear material
Nuclear material refers to the metals uranium, plutonium, and thorium, in any form, according to the IAEA. This is differentiated further into "source material", consisting of natural and depleted uranium, and "special fissionable material", consisting of enriched uranium , uranium-233, and...
for the MKE
Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (Turkey)
The Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation , established in 1950, is a reorganization of government-controlled group of factories in Turkey that supplied the Turkish Army with supplies, munitions and equipment.-History:...
The ship arrived in Ajman to unload fertilizer. Celal Kambur met the Pakistani drug dealer and received the money in a restaurant. The delivery of the drug package took place at 23:00 local time the same day by throwing to a boat, which pulled alongside the ship.
The next morning, police raid the ship and found the money of US$10,000 from the drug trade on Celal Kambur. He was tried and found guilty for the drug crime. The ship moored at the port for six months during the trial and was only allowed to leave as the trial ended, and Celal Kambur was put into prison.
Celal Kambur served his heavy prison sentence and was pardoned after nine years by the emir of Ajman, one of the seven emirates of the UAE federation.
Operation
Since its departure from Karachi, the ship was under close surveillance by the United States DEADrug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
, which was forwarding all the relevant information to the Turkish Police. The incident in Ajman was very disappointing for the US and Turkish law enforcement services since they feared the main smuggle would have been revealed.
Finally, the ship passed through the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
and sailed into the Mediterranean Sea. Three Turkish Navy warships, the frigate TCG Yıldırım (F 243), the destroyer TCG Savaştepe (D 348), the submarine rescue ship TCG Akın (A 585) and the US destroyer USS Briscoe (DD-977)
USS Briscoe (DD-977)
USS Briscoe , named for Rear Admiral Robert Pearce Briscoe USN, was a built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was laid down 21 July 1975, launched 28 December 1976 and commissioned 3 June 1978. The ship operated out of Norfolk, Virginia...
carrying Turkish and US narcotic policemen as well as maritime patrol aircraft of type P-3 Orion
P-3 Orion
The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner. The aircraft is easily recognizable by its distinctive tail stinger or...
deployed from Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
intercepted the ship in high sea before she tried to escape to Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, a country, which Turkey has no good international relations with. Following the four days lasting joint operation, the ship went down with all its load, the nine crew were rescued.
The US and Turkish officials claimed that the crew deliberately sank the ship in order to prevent the capture of the drug load. The ship's crew denied this allegation before the court declaring that the ship sank due to rough sea.
The operation was led on site by Necdet Menzir, director of Istanbul Police Department and Mestan Şener, head of the narcotics bureau. Mehmet Ağar
Mehmet Agar
Mehmet Kemal Ağar is a Turkish former police chief, politician, government minister and leader of the Democratic Party.-Early years:...
, director general of the Turkish Police and Ismet Sezgin, minister of interior, were in command of the operation.
Aftermath
Şeyhmus Daş was shot to death on December 25, 1992 in Istanbul in his car when he was on the way to a wedding ceremony along with his wife and two daughters. The killing occurred ten days after the Kısmetim-1 incident and two weeks before the Lucky-S incidentLucky-S incident
The Lucky-S incident occurred on January 7, 1993 when Turkish Navy vessels, carrying members of the Turkish Narcotic Police, intercepted the MV Lucky-S, a Turkish ocean freighter in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea...
, another drug smuggling operation on the sea.
Nejat Daş, son of Şeyhmus Daş, who had carried out the drug trade negotiations in Karachi on behalf of his father, was tried at the 2nd State Security Court (DGM) in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
and found guilty of drug trafficking. He was charged with 5 years and 10 months of heavy prison sentence. He escaped the prison on November 8, 1994, as he was brought from Sinop Fortress Prison
Sinop Fortress Prison
Sinop Fortress Prison, was a state prison situated in the inside of the Sinop Fortress in Sinop, Turkey. As one of the oldest prisons of Turkey, it was established in 1887 within the inner fortress of the centuries-old fortification located on the northwestern part of Cape Sinop...
to the 1st DGM in Istanbul for trial due to his involvement in the Lucky-S incident
Lucky-S incident
The Lucky-S incident occurred on January 7, 1993 when Turkish Navy vessels, carrying members of the Turkish Narcotic Police, intercepted the MV Lucky-S, a Turkish ocean freighter in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea...
.