Turkish ex-envoy to Brussels arrested over alleged drug smuggling charges

Turkish police have arrested the former press consultant of the Turkish Embassy in Brussels on alleged charges of drug smuggling, Halkweb news site reported on Saturday.

Veysel Filiz was taken into police custody on Dec. 9 when was found in possession of 100 kilograms of heroin found in his vehicle at the country’s northwestern Hamzabeyli gate at the Bulgaria border, it said.

Filiz, who frequently appears on pro-government television as a foreign policy expert, was dismissed from his position as press consultant at the Brussels Embassy in 2017, following an investigation whose content was withheld from the press.

Filiz’s son, Fatih Filiz, has denied the report, telling Belemtürktv website on Sunday that the arrest was part of a  “conspiracy’’ against his father.

“It is true that there is an investigation taking place at the moment,’’ he said.  “But because there is gag order on the file, I cannot give provide you with a great deal of detailed information.’’

Filiz currently heads the European Yozgat Federation, a cultural organisation representing the central Turkish province of Yozgat.