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Türkiye's Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci proposed the establishment of Turkpol, an Interpol- and Europol-style law enforcement cooperation agency among Turkic states, during the Organization of Turkic States' (OTS) Third Meeting of Interior Ministers in Astana, Kazakhstan.
"I raised as a proposal the establishment of Turkpol, an organization similar to Interpol and Europol among Turkic states.
Both the Kazakh side and our counterparts from Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan responded quite positively to this proposal," Ciftci told reporters following the meeting.
Ciftci said the agenda extended beyond security matters to include efforts allowing citizens of Turkic states to travel using only identity cards, as well as the creation of shared passport control lanes at airports.
"When we travel to a European country, we see that European Union citizens pass through one checkpoint while citizens of other countries pass through another. We are continuing work to establish something similar among the community of Turkic states," Ciftci said, referring to the joint passport lane initiative.
He said the topics discussed in Astana, including the Turkpol proposal, ID-based travel and joint passport lanes, served as preparatory groundwork for the OTS Leaders' Summit set to be hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara next month, adding that these issues would certainly be addressed at the leaders' level as well.
Ciftci said the meeting's agenda covered cross-border crime, new-generation criminal organizations, terrorism, drug trafficking networks, irregular migration, and illegal betting and gambling, along with related areas of cooperation.
He said the OTS Police Academies Platform, established last November, was reviewed at the meeting and is now operational.
He described the creation of a Council for Combating Crime as one of the most important topics discussed, covering cooperation against new-generation criminal organizations, drug and terrorism offenses, irregular migration, and illegal betting and gambling.
Ciftci said he proposed establishing a new law enforcement cooperation mechanism among Turkic states as a further step once the council's founding agreement is in place, describing Turkpol as the eventual executive body that would emerge from it.
In a post on the social media platform X, Ciftci wrote that the council's establishment had been included in the meeting's joint declaration, with the founding agreement expected to be signed at next month's OTS Leaders' Summit in Ankara.
He said work would then continue toward creating Turkpol, or the Turkic States Law Enforcement Cooperation Agency, as the council's executive arm, drawing a comparison to Europol and Aseanapol.
Ciftci said Türkiye conducted 1,568 operations against 557 organized crime groups this year, including 18 international operations, 78 of which targeted drug-trafficking organizations.
He said 177,000 cyber patrols and 4,210 cyber operations conducted in 2026 targeted cybercriminals, online fraudsters and illegal betting and gambling operators, resulting in the closure of 58,247 illegal betting and gambling websites.
Ciftci said Türkiye supports strengthening cooperation with OTS countries against new-generation criminal organizations, drug traffickers and cybercriminals, and suggested that combating illegal betting, gambling and games of chance be added to the OTS' 2027-2031 Strategy Document, proposing the matter be raised at the upcoming 13th Summit of Heads of State.
On counterterrorism, Ciftci said Türkiye continues to advance steadily toward its "Terror-Free Türkiye" goal, stressing the importance of severing terrorist organizations' connections abroad and eliminating the sources of financing and manpower they draw on, including in the fight against Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and Daesh.
Ciftci said 409 people wanted through Interpol red notices or diffusions were apprehended this year, with 657 individuals wanted on red notices or at the international level brought to Türkiye.
On migrant smuggling and human trafficking, he said 8,612 suspects were apprehended in 4,777 operations this year.
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