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A new generation of organized crime is transforming Türkiye’s urban landscape.
Prosecutors say groups such as the Daltonlar have built youth-led networks that mix online popularity with street-level violence. Their members, often barely out of school, present themselves on social media as symbols of wealth and power. Behind those videos lies a structure that functions like a criminal organization rather than a teenage group of friends.
In October 2025, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office expanded its 1,676-page indictment with new testimony describing how Daltonlar targeted minors through TikTok and other apps.
Prosecutors said recruits as young as fifteen were lured with promises of luxury and money, then placed in gang houses across Bahcelievler and Esenyurt. The document also confirmed that fugitive leader Beratcan Gokdemir remains abroad under an Interpol Red Notice.
The group’s rise points to how poverty, addiction, and online culture have merged to create a new model of organized crime. This model recruits followers through TikTok and Instagram, turning crime into spectacle and performance.
The Daltonlar originated in Yenibosna, a working-class district of Istanbul’s Bahcelievler area.
Investigators say the group was initially tied to fugitive gang leader Baris Boyun, who ran operations across Türkiye and Italy. After splitting from his network in early 2024, the Daltonlar began working independently and quickly gained influence across Bahcelievler, Esenyurt, and Kucukcekmece.
Their leader, 28-year-old Beratcan Gokdemir, known as “Can Dalton,” is accused of maintaining a strict hierarchy where loyalty was absolute. Members addressed senior figures as “abi” (big brother) and were told to follow pre-written statements during police questioning. Prosecutors list charges of armed attacks, murder, extortion, and robbery.
According to investigators, the group aimed to dominate illegal markets in Istanbul, including extortion and drug trafficking.
They also coordinated contract killings and other paid crimes. Prosecutors say Gokdemir fled abroad after several armed assaults and is now wanted under an Interpol Red Notice.
Police describe the Daltonlar as one of several youth-led groups driving an increase in street violence in Istanbul.
The indictment depicts a structured but volatile organization. Roles within the group were clearly defined: “motorcu” referred to motorcycle drivers, “atici” to the gunmen, and “joker” to backup attackers who acted if the first attempt failed. These terms came from criminal slang already popular on social media.
Prosecutors say the Daltonlar kept safe houses across Esenyurt and Bahcelievler and used foreign phone lines to avoid tracking. Weapons found in police raids included pistols, rifles, and grenades.
Investigators believe the group gained influence through visible power rather than secrecy. Their attacks were often filmed, shared online, or discussed openly in chat groups.
The Daltonlar’s alleged link to the killing of lawyer Serdar Oktem made national headlines and turned them into one of Türkiye’s most talked-about gangs. Prosecutors say this new generation of crime thrives on visibility and defiance rather than the silence that once defined the underworld.
Prosecutors found that the Daltonlar used TikTok and Instagram to project an image of wealth and rebellion.
A quick search reveals members openly posting videos flaunting cash, luxury cars, and firearms. Many appear comfortable promoting the gang in public, boasting of its power and threatening rivals with violence under what they call the Dalton rule.
These images attracted teenagers who saw the lifestyle as glamorous and attainable. One suspect told investigators that he joined after watching such videos, saying, “We saw people our age with cars and money. We sent a message asking to join them.”
The indictment suggests that the Daltonlar used social media deliberately to recruit followers and build status. Their content blurred the line between entertainment and criminal propaganda.
Videos, music clips, and online arguments with rival groups created a sense of fame and community around violence. Some of these recruits were minors who were later given drugs and weapons and told to commit assaults.
The group’s online influence also extends beyond recruitment. A WhatsApp message allegedly sent from a business account registered in the Philippines threatened the family of Rojin Kabais, warning them to withdraw from the case of her suspicious death and claiming responsibility for a young woman’s killing.
Experts say this phenomenon represents a shift in Türkiye’s criminal culture. Online visibility replaces secrecy, and algorithmic fame replaces reputation.
The Daltonlar’s digital presence became a form of currency that helped them recruit, intimidate, and expand faster than traditional gangs.
Most Daltonlar members are under 25 and come from low-income neighborhoods.
Prosecutors say poverty, unemployment, and drug dependency make these young men vulnerable to recruitment.
In several confessions, suspects said they joined to escape financial hardship or to gain respect. One 19-year-old said he was promised money and a new phone. Another wrote from prison that being arrested saved his life.
Prof. Oguz Polat, head of the Crime and Violence Research Center at Acibadem University, says the social roots of the problem run deep. “Money has become the only value left,” he told BBC Turkish. “What was once condemned is now admired.”
Drug use plays a major role in this cycle. Prosecutors say the Daltonlar gave narcotics to minors in exchange for carrying out assaults and robberies. Former police officers warn that addiction both fuels crime and traps young people within gang structures.
For many recruits, the promise of belonging quickly turns into dependence and fear.
Experts warn that law enforcement alone cannot address Türkiye’s new organized crime model.
Former police chief Haydar Ozdemir, who refers to these groups as the “Z generation mafia,” says they are unpredictable and lack the discipline of older gangs. “They broadcast their crimes online, they change sides frequently, and they live in chaos,” he said.
Both Ozdemir and Polat argue that policing must be paired with education reform, social programs, and stronger rehabilitation systems. Polat says Türkiye’s juvenile justice institutions often worsen the problem. “We put children in prisons with adults,” he explained. “They enter as first-time offenders and leave as experienced criminals.”
The Daltonlar trial, expected to begin soon in Istanbul, reveals how Türkiye’s criminal underworld has entered the digital age. Groups once hidden now seek visibility as power is measured by followers as much as by firearms.
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