Türkiye cracks down on organised crime, 42 arrested

Turkish authorities carried out simultaneous operations against organised criminal groups in nine provinces, with Istanbul as the central hub, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a post on X.

Yerlikaya wrote that 42 suspects were detained during the raids, which took place on the morning of October 23, Caliber.Az reports.

İstanbul merkezli 9 ilde elebaşıları yurtdışında olan Organize Suç Örgütü üyelerine yönelik bu sabah eşzamanlı olarak düzenlenen operasyonlarımızda 42 şüpheliyi yakaladık ❗️

İstanbul İl Emniyet Müdürlüğümüzce, İstanbul Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığı koordinesinde, İstanbul İl Emniyet… pic.twitter.com/h7AXtledmG

— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) October 23, 2025

The operations aimed to identify members of organised crime networks whose leaders are reportedly based abroad.

In a previous such crackdown on organised crime, which had been ongoing for four months, Turkish authorities arrested 370 suspects in drug smuggling cases across 10 provinces. The local enforcers simultaneously cracked down on 169 persons engaged in human smuggling, including 132 foreign nationals, along with 783 illegal migrants.

By Khagan Isayev