The ''Lucky-S'' incident occurred on January 7, 1993, when

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

vessels, carrying members of the Turkish Narcotic Police, intercepted the MV ''Lucky-S'', a Turkish ocean freighter in international waters in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. The ship was suspected of being involved in smuggling illegal drugs into Turkey. It was the second Turkish anti-drug-smuggling operation on the high seas in three weeks, following the

Kısmetim-1 incident On 15 November 1992, the Turkish merchant ship MV ''Kısmetim-1'' (), returning from Karachi, Pakistan, was sunk by its crew in the international waters of the Mediterranean Sea after being surrounded by the USS Briscoe (DD-977), USS ''Briscoe''- ...

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

and morphine base were captured on the ship, which was escorted to a Turkish port.

Trial

Eleven people arrested as a result of the operation were convicted of involvement in the drug trade. Şeyhmus Daş, who was also found to have organized

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

with '' Kısmetim-1'' and was imprisoned, escaped from custody on November 8, 1994, as he was brought from the

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 ...

to the 1st State Security Court in Istanbul for trial over his involvement in the Lucky-S incident. On March 16, 1995, he was sentenced in absentia to 24 years imprisonment in a maximum-security prison. It was alleged that the drugs on the ship belonged mostly to the Turkish

drug lord A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin, or lord of drugs is a type of crime boss in charge of a drug trafficking network, organization, or enterprise. Crime barons may be difficult to bring to justice: usually, they do not possess illegal goods. Ra ...

Halil İbrahim Havar, son of the

arms trafficker Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms, explosives, and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational criminal organizations. The illegal trad ...

. He was tried and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. He is serving his sentence in the

maximum-security Maximum security prisons and supermax prisons are grades of high security level used by prison systems in various countries, which pose a higher level of security to prevent prisoners from escaping and/or doing harm to other inmates or security guar ...

Uşak Prison.

In popular culture

In Walley of the Volves, a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

television series, Lucky-S was seen carrying drugs and was featured as Şanslı-S.

References

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Lucky-S'' incident 1993 in Turkey Cargo ships of Turkey International maritime incidents Maritime incidents in 1993 Law enforcement in Turkey History of the Mediterranean January 1993 in Europe

Trial

In popular culture

See also

References