Police in İstanbul detained 25 taxi drivers for allegedly swindling tourists, the Diken news website reported on Tuesday.
The detainees were referred to court on charges of aggravated fraud and extortion, accusations they did not admit to during their questioning by the police.
The operation was the result of an investigation launched four months ago over complaints of fraud.
The suspects allegedly extended routes, charged their customers excessively, gave counterfeit money for change and, on two occasions, seized tourists’ money against their will and left them in the middle of the road.
Their taxi drivers licenses will be revoked, the reports said.