Ankara: 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 Trkiye, while the remaining nine were arrested abroad, Yerlikaya said at a press briefing in Ankara.
According to Anadolu Agency, Yerlikaya stated that assets worth approximately 13 billion liras ($341M) were seized during the operation. These assets included 681 properties, 127 vehicles, shares in 113 companies, and the bank accounts of the suspects, as identified by MASAK (Financial Crimes Investigation Board).
Yerlikaya explained that 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 executed simultaneously in 20 provinces, with Istanbul as the central hub.
During the operation, 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. Yerlikaya detailed that the operation targeted four distinct international drug trafficking organized crime groups. These groups were involved in manufacturing and transporting cocaine from South America via sea and land routes, heroin through Iran and Afghanistan, skunk through Balkan countries, and ecstasy from European countries to Trkiye and Europe.
He also noted the detection of criminal gangs involved in the shipment of raw chemicals from East Asia, used in drug production for European countries. Yerlikaya emphasized that teams worked with great diligence and secrecy for eight months on the operation, successfully decoding the communication encryption systems used by the criminal organizations.
Highlighting the significance of cooperation with Europol, Yerlikaya called it a historically important partnership. He stated that the simultaneous operations carried out in five countries, including Trkiye, clearly demonstrated that they do not recognize borders in transnational crime. Yerlikaya concluded by saying that this operation has once again demonstrated Trkiye's resolve against crime, not only within its borders but also on a global level.