Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Tuesday that authorities in Turkey, in coordination with four European nations, have apprehended 234 individuals linked to major criminal drug-trafficking organizations.
“We have detained 234 high-ranking leaders of these criminal groups, with 225 arrests made within Turkey and nine abroad,” Yerlikaya stated, also noting that 10 of the suspects were subject to Interpol red notices.
Speaking in Ankara, he detailed that those taken into custody were wanted for a range of serious offenses, including international drug trafficking, money laundering, homicide, kidnapping, issuing threats, and blackmail.
Yerlikaya explained that police forces in Belgium, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and Turkey conducted synchronized operations, and that the arrested individuals are suspected of being involved in a large-scale scheme for producing and distributing cocaine, heroin, and other illicit substances.
He further revealed that the operation resulted in the seizure of numerous properties, vehicles, company shares, and bank accounts, with a total estimated value of 13 billion Turkish lira (approximately $341 million).
Yerlikaya highlighted that Turkish police collaborated with Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, for eight months to meticulously map out and decipher the intricate details of these organizations, including their contacts and operational methods.
