Istanbul Police Tuesday seized unprocessed raw diamonds with a market value of TL 20 million ($1 million), estimated to be 61.38 carats, during an operation in the Grand Bazaar – one of the historical trade centers of Istanbul.

According to the initial reports, the Istanbul Police Department and the Department of Combating Financial Crimes received a tipoff hinting at the smuggling of diamonds in the historic Grand Bazaar, Istanbul.

Following the investigation, undercover cops started a follow-up around the bazaar on April 12. They detained four foreign national suspects with the initials M.M.D., M.F.M., M.A., and A.A., who were later identified as customers and business owners.

Launching the operation after the judicial decision, the Istanbul Financial Branch Police raided the workplace.

It was determined that the seized diamond was brought to Türkiye illegally via Africa, marking it one of the most important diamond operations in the country's history.