Weapons and ammunition -- fresh from the Marmara Sea

Many arms caches filled with weapons and explosives have been uncovered as part of an ongoing investigation into a clandestine criminal organization known as Ergenekon. The Ergenekon probe has resulted in the discovery of large caches of munitions, including light anti-tank weapons, hand grenades and rifles and bullets, buried underground, hidden underwater or just abandoned along a roadside in various Turkish cities. Experts believe members panicking over the expanding investigation might be abandoning weapons to avoid capture. The Bosporus is among the sites where arsenals have been discovered as part of the investigation.

The first discovery was made on March 18, when fishermen off the coast of İstanbul's Yenikapı neighborhood accidentally caught two heavy machine guns.

Police discoveries of various types of munitions in the Bosporus have particularly gained momentum since an arms cache was discovered in April, buried on land in İstanbul's Poyrazköy neighborhood amid the Ergenekon investigation.

On May 10, police discovered numerous bags filled with hand grenades, guns and bullets on the seabed off the Port of Çubuklu in Beykoz.

İstanbul Police have continued to search for weaponry at the bottom of the Sea of Marmara and have found more than 1,000 weapons including hand grenades, smoke bombs, rifles and materials used in bomb making in their search off of the Port of Çubuklu. According to police, the munitions found in the sea were similar to those found in Poyrazköy.

The most striking find in the Bosporus was a light anti-tank weapon and two bags of ammunition found in late June off İstanbul's Üsküdar district at Salacak. A spear-fishing enthusiast noticed the light anti-tank weapon as he dove in the area and informed authorities.

Last week police discovered 250 bullets and rifle grenades in addition to a gun off the Sarıyer coast. Weapons have also been found in other bodies of water in Turkey, including eight hand grenades, a detonator and the clip of a G-3 rifle, which were found yesterday in the Asi River in the province of Hatay.

The Ergenekon investigation itself began in July 2007 with the discovery of an arms cache in İstanbul's Ümraniye district.