Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi (AA File Photo)
Türkiye has pledged to step up efforts to tackle Turkish criminal gangs operating across Europe, with Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi announcing plans to visit Germany and Italy for talks with his counterparts on cooperation in combating organized crime and securing the return of fugitives.
Çiftçi has embarked on a series of visits to countries where members of Turkish criminal networks are believed to have sought refuge to evade legal proceedings at home.
Since taking office in February, he has visited neighboring Georgia and Bulgaria before traveling to Greece last week, where he met with Greek Minister for Citizen Protection Michalis Chrisochoidis and Minister for Migration and Asylum Thanos Plevris.
Speaking to local broadcaster KonTV over the weekend, Çiftçi vowed to intensify the crackdown on organized crime, warning fugitives against assuming they could evade justice by fleeing abroad.
He said his upcoming visits to Germany and Italy would help strengthen cooperation to track down and repatriate suspects wanted in Türkiye.
Turkish gang leader Barış Boyun was arrested in Italy in May 2024 during a joint operation and is currently held at L’Aquila prison under the 41-bis regime, a stringent detention system that severely restricts contact with the outside world.
Italy has rejected Türkiye’s requests concerning Boyun’s extradition and asylum.
In Germany, meanwhile, numerous members of Turkish criminal gangs, specifically Daltons, are known to operate.
Türkiye has increasingly focused on so-called “next-generation gangs,” which have expanded their activities in recent years.
Unlike traditional Turkish mafia groups, these networks frequently recruit minors and teenagers to carry out crimes ranging from extortion to murder. They also use social media to publicize their activities, glorify criminal behavior and attract new recruits.
“As of the end of September, we had conducted 1,741 operations targeting 625 criminal organizations as part of our campaign against next-generation gangs. The total reflects repeated operations against certain groups. These efforts resulted in 8,170 people being arrested and remanded in custody,” Çiftçi said.
He stressed that the groups operate beyond Türkiye’s borders, with members often fleeing overseas when they come under pressure from law enforcement.
“Next-generation criminal organizations do not confine their activities to Türkiye. When they get into trouble, their members immediately flee abroad. I visited Bulgaria in recent months to address this issue, followed by Georgia, where I met with the interior minister. On Thursday [Oct. 8], I was in Greece, holding separate talks with the ministers responsible for citizen protection and migration and asylum,” he said.
Çiftçi said the meetings focused on security cooperation, the activities of emerging criminal networks and the countries in which their members seek shelter.
Türkiye secured the extradition of 736 people from abroad during the first nine months of the year, according to Çiftçi. He said the individuals had committed crimes in Türkiye before fleeing overseas in an attempt to escape prosecution.
“We will increase that number through our upcoming visits and continued security diplomacy. We will pursue every one of them and bring them back to Türkiye,” he added.
