A woman and a child enter a Turkish neighborhood in Berlin.
Berlin is facing a growing wave of extortion attacks targeting Turkish-owned businesses, with criminal groups demanding up to 500,000 euros (around $578,000) and resorting to gunfire and hand grenades when victims refuse to pay.
A detailed investigation by German news outlet Der Spiegel, based on police and prosecutors’ files, court records and interviews, describes a fragmented criminal ecosystem stretching from Berlin to Istanbul, Moscow and Dubai.
Cafes, restaurants, supermarkets and driving schools have been targeted in attacks that have intensified over the past two years. In one case, a Berlin mechanic was shot at after allegedly receiving a 250,000 euro demand and threats that he would be shot in the legs if he did not pay.
Berlin recorded 1,119 cases involving firearms threats or shootings in 2025, around 70 percent more than the previous year. Police say roughly half of the shootings in 2026 are linked to the extortion series.
Authorities established the Ferrum special unit in November 2025, deploying around 100 officers and, for major operations, up to 600 personnel. Nearly 60 firearms, about 3,300 rounds of ammunition and more than 500 investigations have been recorded so far, while prosecutors have issued 61 arrest warrants.
The investigation points to the Türkiye-linked Daltonlar criminal network as one element of the picture, but not as a single command structure behind all attacks. Local Berlin gangs reportedly use the Daltonlar name as a threat brand, while young asylum seekers have allegedly been recruited as contract gunmen.
The Daltonlar network was founded in Istanbul by Barış Boyun and later associated with Beratcan Gökdemir, who fled to Russia. Boyun was arrested in Italy in 2024. The group operates a “crime-as-a-service” model, carrying out criminal acts for payment.
Investigators also trace weapons to illicit workshops in Türkiye, alongside illegally manufactured 3D-printed firearms.
