Georgian man arrested by Turkey for smuggling 1,100 bees on his body

Turkish authorities say they have arrested a Georgian man who attempted to cross the Georgian–Turkish border at Sarpi with 1,100 bees strapped to his body in boxes.

On Thursday, the Turkish media agency Demirören Haber Ajansı quoted the Turkish Ministry of Trade as saying that the man, identified only as T B, was detained on 22 October while carrying the bees in 110 wooden boxes wrapped around his body.

The Hopa office of Turkey’s Chief Public Prosecutor confirmed the seizure to OC Media, adding that the man was a Georgian citizen ‘around 45-55 years old’.

According to the reports by local media, the customs authorities searched the man after he ‘exhibited suspicious movements’ as he passed through the security scanner.

The Ministry reportedly claimed to have also seized over 104 kilogrammes of chestnut honey hidden in the fuel tank of a vehicle. 

The eventual fate of the bees remains unknown.

‘During the process, the relevant department came and dealt with the bees’, a spokesperson for the Hopa Prosecutor told OC Media.

‘At the moment, I don’t have any information about the bees. Maybe they released the bees, maybe they did something else, I can’t make any guesses.’