Turkish Regime Stealing Syrian Olives to Finance Armed Groups in Syria: Swiss Lawmaker

The Turkish has been stealing olive crops in northern Syria and sending them as “Turkish olive oil” to the European Union to finance Ankara-backed militants, according to a Swiss lawmaker.

The lawmaker alerted the Swiss government of Turkey’s olive looting from Syria’s Afrin and passing them off as their own olive oil to sellers in the EU countries, including Spain.

“In Turkish-occupied Afrin, the olive groves are being pillaged by both Turkish forces and the militants they support. The olives they steal have been sold to Spain, and the sale will continue,” Bernhard Guhl of Switzerland’s Conservative Democratic Party said on January 15, according to Press TV.

The Turkish-backed armed groups captured Afrin in northern Syria in March 2018.

Spanish newspaper El Publico also said Turkey is using intermediary companies to export olive oil seized from Afrin into Spain, Press TV said.

The seized olives are pressed in local mills and then transported through the border to Turkey where it’s falsely labeled as Turkish olive oil before being exported to EU countries, locals told the El Publico.

El Publico quotes a dossier on the looting of olive oil from the Afrin area that states the haul from last year’s crop could be worth $80 million, with a quarter of revenues due to be handed to Turkish-backed armed groups.

Guhl told El Publico that “it doesn’t matter if the final destination is Spain or Germany but, I believe it is very important that the country or countries concerned launch a criminal investigation to determine whether companies are trading in stolen olives or olive oil.”

Reports said Spanish politicians on Tuesday called on their government to make sure Spain and other European countries are not buying oil made from olives plundered from Afrin.

H.M