Turkish authorities arrested 234 high-ranking members of international organized crime groups in a sweeping operation coordinated across 20 provinces and nine foreign countries, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference in Ankara, Yerlikaya said the synchronized raids, dubbed Operation “Orkinos-Bulut,” targeted transnational drug trafficking syndicates and their money laundering networks. Of the suspects detained, 225 were apprehended in Türkiye and nine abroad. Ten of the suspects were on Interpol’s red notice list.
“This morning, we carried out a major operation against the upper echelons of organized crime groups involved in international drug trafficking and money laundering,” Yerlikaya said.
The operation was led by the Turkish National Police under the coordination of the Anti-Narcotics Department, Interpol-Europol Department, and Istanbul Police, with support from Türkiye’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK). Europol and the police forces of the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Belgium also took part.
Turkish authorities collaborated with law enforcement in France, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, Greece, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Kosovo, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Brazil and Iran by sharing intelligence and documents throughout the operation.
Yerlikaya said the operation targeted four major international drug cartels trafficking cocaine from South America, heroin from Iran and Afghanistan, Skunk via the Balkans, and Ecstasy from European countries. He added that the organizations also smuggled precursor chemicals from East Asia into Europe for drug production.
“The individuals we identified were responsible for 21.2 tons of seized drugs and over 3.3 million illicit pills,” Yerlikaya said. “This was a massive, global criminal structure. In addition to drug trafficking and laundering proceeds, the networks were involved in murder, armed assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, extortion and intimidation through shootings and threats.”
He added that authorities have seized approximately TL 13 billion (about $400 million) in assets, including 681 properties, 127 vehicles and shares in 113 companies connected to the suspects.
The minister emphasized the importance of international cooperation, calling the joint work with Europol a “historic milestone” in combating transnational crime.
“Thanks to real-time coordination, data sharing, and joint analysis of encrypted communications, we mapped out the entire structure of these crime networks,” Yerlikaya said. “This allowed us to identify their drug routes, laundering techniques, and communication methods.”
He noted that Turkish officers worked directly with European investigators at Europol headquarters, leading to the identification of active crime syndicates in Türkiye, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Belgium.
“This operation demonstrates that we do not recognize borders in the fight against cross-border crime,” Yerlikaya said. “Türkiye has once again shown its determination to combat crime not only domestically but also globally.”
Yerlikaya thanked all national and international agencies involved in the operation, pledging continued efforts to dismantle global drug trafficking networks.
“Drug traffickers are enemies of humanity,” he said. “We will keep fighting them on behalf of our nation and all of humanity.”