Turkish crime ring executive caught in Greece
ISTANBUL
Another key figure in a notorious organized Dalton crime group has been captured in the Greek city of Thessaloniki, local media reported on March 26.
Wanted on a red notice, Fatih Uzunyayla was arrested in a police raid while standing on the balcony of his home in Thessaloniki, according to reports from Daily Sabah.
Authorities also determined his involvement in a recent shooting in the northern Greek city, where a Turkish national was killed and another seriously injured.
Uzunyayla had previously been sentenced to life imprisonment plus 39 years for ordering a deadly armed attack on a cafe in Istanbul’s Eyüpsultan district in 2021, which left two people dead. He was also wanted for charges related to organized crime, drug and arms trafficking, auto theft and murder.
His arrest followed that of another high-ranking member of the crime ring, Ahmet Mustafa Timo, who was recently apprehended in a joint operation by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and Istanbul police teams in Iraq and subsequently extradited to Türkiye.
Timo was wanted for 31 different crimes, including leading an armed criminal organization, murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, assault, threats with firearms, vandalism, illegal possession of firearms, car theft and endangering public safety.
Following Timo’s arrest, gang members attempted a retaliatory attack on the Iraqi Consulate General building in Istanbul using long-barreled firearms on March 21. While no casualties were reported, several bullets struck the consulate building.
However, security forces quickly responded to the attack, apprehending a total of 12 suspects linked to the assault, following a traffic accident during the assailants' escape, the security sources announced on March 24.
Searches conducted at various locations uncovered a long-barreled rifle believed to have been used in the attack, a stolen motorcycle that facilitated the assailants' getaway and a vehicle linked to the militant network.
Ankara condemned the assault in the aftermath of the attack.
