France holds seven in ‘Daltons’ arms trafficking probe

PARIS

French police on Sept. 14 detained seven Turkish nationals tied to the ‘Daltons’ crime syndicate for arms trafficking, seizing 150 replica pistols from Hanover, Germany.

Suspects aged 19 to 37 face charges of smuggling counterfeit Glocks into France since 2025 and selling them for 1,300 to 2,800 euros. The arrests follow a one-year probe culminating in raids last weekend.

The probe began Aug. 24 when customs at Gare de Lyon caught a Perpignan-bound man with two backpacks holding 35 handcrafted Glock replicas, a fake ID, a bank card and 2,000 euros. Phone records showed the courier, delivering 100 weapons for figures Mami and Zalo, made two trips to Belgium, four to Spain and one to Germany.

The group’s Black Masks hitman wing charges 15,000 to 30,000 euros per killing, while one suspect faces murder charges over a Marseille plot. “This branch only handles logistics, they do not carry out the assassinations,” a source said. Police identified Marseille’s DZ Mafia and the outlawed PKK as buyers of the weapons, including Kalashnikovs. PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union.

Serial numbers matched Glocks intercepted in Germany in July 2025, with identical guns found in Nancy, Besançon, Dijon, Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, Creil and Strasbourg. Authorities suspect deliveries to two more regions.

The syndicate increasingly troubles European police, forcing Germany to monitor gangs — Caspers, Red Kits and Smurfs — following summer 2026 extortion attacks on businesses in Cologne and Erftstadt. Leader Beratcan Gökdemir directs operations from Russia, using social media to recruit minors, causing Berlin to establish the Ferrum unit in fall 2025.