An operation was carried out on Wednesday against individuals who smuggled python skins worth $20 million (TL 634.6 million) into Türkiye by disguising them as straw bags from Indonesia with the help of a customs company in Istanbul.

The operation seized 1,486 snake skins and 11 bags made from animal skins sold for $4,000 each.

Teams from the Istanbul Police Department's Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Branch received a tip-off that there were skins of animals covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES Convention) and bags made from these skins at an address in Istanbul's Zeytinburnu district.

Evaluating the tip-off, the teams started monitoring the said address. After a long period of physical and technical surveillance, an operation was conducted. One person was caught and taken into custody in the operation.

During the operations area searches, 1,486 python skins, 11 bags made from ostrich skin, and four bags made from python skin were seized.

It was observed that the suspect converted the address into a textile workshop and transformed the snake skins into textile products.

In their investigations, the police determined that the suspect imported the snake skins from Indonesia with the help of a customs company. The police, who found out that the customs company presented the snake skin as straw bags to the authorized institutions, imposed a fine of TL 40 million on the company.

It was learned that a centimeter of python skin costs $22, while snakeskin bags are sold for $4,000 each.

Additionally, the police imposed a $15 million fine on the suspect detained in the operation.