Türkiye unveils success of operation in Mersin, arresting 22 in crime crackdown VIDEO

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has said that the actions were taken against an organised criminal group in Türkiye as part of Operation Hücre-12.

"During Operation Hücre-12, carried out across 33 separate addresses in Mersin against the organised crime group known as 'Tigers', 22 suspects were detained, 15 of whom were arrested, while court orders for judicial control were issued for seven others. The detainees are accused of crimes including robbery through coercion, forcing individuals to sign debt obligations under the threat of using weapons, aggravated robbery involving multiple people, blackmail, and illegal gambling. As a result of the operation, seven unlicensed pistols, various drugs and digital materials were seized," Caliber.Az reports, citing Yerlikaya’s message on X.

Mersin'de "Kaplanlar" olarak bilinen Organize Suç Örgütüne yönelik düzenlenen “HÜCRE-12” operasyonlarında; 22 şüpheli yakalandı.

Şüphelilerin;
➡️ 15'i TUTUKLANDI.
➡️ 7’si hakkında adli kontrol kararı verildi.

🚩 Erdemli Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığı koordinasyonunda; Mersin İl… pic.twitter.com/zbGOtQQNQ6

— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) February 17, 2025

Earlier, in Türkiye, authorities dismantled an organized criminal group in Izmir as part of Operation Hücre-11. The operation targeted a fraud ring involved in large-scale illegal activities. During the operation conducted in Izmir, 23 suspects who were members of an organized criminal group of fraudsters were detained. 

The detained suspects fraudulently obtained about 30 million Turkish liras in undue profits from their victims. Authorities also seized several items during the operation. Unregistered shotguns, a large number of checks, bills of exchange, as well as diaries and notebooks containing the victims' data were seized.

By Naila Huseynova