Security units dismantle 585 gangs in a year: Minister

ANKARA

Turkish security forces have dismantled a total of 585 organized crime syndicates in a year, resulting in the detention of thousands of suspects and the seizure of assets valued at 106 billion Turkish Liras ($3.2 billion), Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has said.

Efforts have been recently particularly concentrated on targeting high-ranking members of international gangs operating within Türkiye, Yerlikaya said during a briefing on June 13 with media outlets’ representatives in the capital Ankara. He provided an overview of his ministry’s activities since he assumed office approximately a year ago.

Some of these operations were conducted in collaboration with MASAK, the country’s financial crimes investigation board.

Over the span of the year, approximately 14,000 operations led to the apprehension of around 103,000 suspects related to gangs, the minister said.

"A total of 3,891 individuals have been arrested, 585 criminal organizations have been dismantled, and assets worth 106 billion liras have been confiscated.”

The country has observed a roughly 4 percent decline in crime rates, with 108,320 unlicensed firearms seized, he said.

Providing information on the fight against the PKK terrorist organization, Yerlikaya reported that forces under his ministry have “neutralized” 1,022 terrorists for a year.

Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to indicate that the militants in question have surrendered, been killed, or captured. The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the EU.

Over the same period, there have been 56 new recruits to the terrorist organization, marking the lowest number of joinings recorded to date.