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Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Tuesday that authorities have detained 234 high-level members of transnational crime networks in a large-scale operation spanning five countries, marking one of the largest anti-organized crime crackdowns in recent years.
"This morning, a total of 234 high-level members of an organised crime group were detained, nine of whom were abroad and 225 were at home," he told during a press conference.
Of the suspects detained, 225 were arrested in Türkiye, while 9 were apprehended abroad, during coordinated raids in Türkiye, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and Belgium, Yerlikaya said during a press briefing.
"We are facing a huge criminal structure on an international scale," he said.
The investigation targeted four major international crime organizations involved in narcotics trafficking and money laundering.
According to Yerlikaya, the syndicates smuggled:
into Türkiye and broader Europe.
He described the network as "a huge criminal structure on an international scale," responsible for crimes including drug trafficking, money laundering, murder, armed assault, kidnapping, and extortion.
The operation, codenamed Orkinos-Bulut, was conducted with Europol support and followed eight months of surveillance and planning.
Intelligence and documentation were also shared with countries such as France and the United Kingdom ahead of the raids.
Yerlikaya emphasized the critical role of international cooperation, noting that Turkish officers worked directly with European analysts at Europol's headquarters to track suspects and map out criminal networks.
Authorities seized:
with financial tracking support from Türkiye's Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK).
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