The government initially claimed that the cargo in the lorries was a 'national secret'.[22] Shortly after, the government claimed that the lorries were supplying food and medical aid to the Turkmen population in Syria, who had been subject to a humanitarian crisis as a result of the Syrian Civil War. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused the prosecutor who ordered the search of being affiliated with Fetullah Gülen and his Cemaat Movement, while Customs Minister Hayati Yazıcı claimed that only rifles for sporting purposes were included in the cargo.[23] With the lorries in Hatay being prevented from being searched, the police allegedly recorded the cargo to be 'humanitarian aid'.