Türkiye-led operation busts 4 international criminal gangs dealing with drugs

ISTANBUL

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Tuesday that 234 hardened criminals working with organized crime gangs were apprehended in a simultaneous operation dubbed "Orkinos-Bulut," targeting international drug rackets.

Some 225 of the suspects were arrested in Türkiye, while the remaining nine were arrested abroad, Yerlikaya said at a press briefing in Ankara.

“We have seized assets worth approximately 13 billion liras ($341M), including 681 properties, 127 vehicles, shares in 113 companies, and the bank accounts of the suspects, as identified by MASAK (Financial Crimes Investigation Board),” Yerlikaya said.

Yerlikaya said the operation was coordinated by the Directorate General of Security in collaboration with the Counter-narcotics Department, Interpol-Europol Department, Istanbul Police Department, Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), Europol, and police forces from the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and Belgium.

The operation was carried out simultaneously in 20 provinces, with Istanbul as the central hub.

During the operation, he said information and documents were exchanged with police forces from France, the UK, Australia, the US, Greece, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Kosovo, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Brazil, and Iran.

"In our 'Orkinos-Bulut' operation, we targeted four distinct international drug trafficking organized crime groups. We discovered that these criminal rackets were attempting to manufacture and transport cocaine from South American countries via sea and land routes, heroin through Iran and Afghanistan, skunk through Balkan countries, and ecstasy from European countries to our country and Europe," he said.

He also noted that they had detected that these criminal gangs were involved in the shipment of raw chemicals originating from East Asia, which were used in the production of drugs for European countries.

He emphasized that the teams worked with great diligence and secrecy for eight months on the operation, during which they successfully decoded the communication encryption systems used by the criminal organizations.

He also highlighted the significance of the cooperation with Europol, calling it a historically important partnership.

Yerlikaya said the simultaneous operations carried out in five countries, including Türkiye, clearly demonstrated that they do not recognize borders in transnational crime.

He added: "Even this latest operation has once again demonstrated Türkiye's will against crime, not only within its borders but also on a global level."