Turkey’s Kartel and Kafes Operations: Crackdown on Organized Crime and Drug Lords

2024-02-12 09:58:18

Published on February 12, 2024 at 10:58. / Modified on February 12, 2024 at 11:03.

They are called “Kartel” (cartel) or “Kafes” (cage). Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya likes to announce them in person on his X account (formerly Twitter) at 8:15 in the morning. In his messages, always very long, there are words in bold and capital letters, numbers in blue, exclamation points in red, small Turkish flags and – bonus – a video with a soundtrack worthy of ‘a television series.

Since last October, Turkish police have carried out 38 Kafes operations ( once morest organized crime) across the country and five Kartel operations ( once morest drug lords) exclusively in Istanbul. Minister Yerlikaya, who arrived at his post in June 2023 just following the re-election of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, displays on his hunting list an impressive number of traffickers of all kinds and “big fish” hitherto tracked by Interpol. During a recent assessment, for the short period from January 1 to 19, he welcomed the arrest of 114 individuals subject to a red notice, that is to say a request for international arrest with a view to extradition .

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#Turkey #impunity #organized #crime

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