Three more organized crime leaders, two of whom are wanted on INTERPOL Red Notices and one the subject of a diffusion circulated through the INTERPOL system, have been apprehended in Turkey, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced.
The minister announced on X, formerly Twitter, that Thomas Josef Konrad was detained in the Alanya district of Antalya, while Jinking Peng and Daniel Alexander Muller were captured in the Fatih and Beyoğlu districts of İstanbul, respectively, as part of “Operation Cage-21.”
🟥 2️⃣’si Kırmızı Bülten, 1️⃣’i Difüzyon Mesajı (Acil Yakalama Mesajı) ile aranan 3️⃣ Organize Suç Örgütü Elebaşı Alanya ve İstanbul’da düzenlenen KAFES-21 OPERASYONLARIYLA YAKALANDILAR.
Aziz Milletimizin Bilmesini İsterim ki;
Hangi büyüklükte olursa olsun, hangi bülten ile… pic.twitter.com/JFUW1AdlOw— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) December 19, 2023
Yerlikaya said Konrad is the leader of an organized crime group involved in drug trafficking in Poland and bringing substantial amounts of narcotics from Morocco into Italy and Spain and then distributing them to other European countries in smaller quantities.
He said Peng is sought as the head of an organized crime group for “fraud and illegal organizational activities” in China.
The minister further noted that Muller, who is the subject of a diffusion, is wanted as the fugitive suspect in an operation involving the seizure of a ton of cocaine in Germany, also identifying him as the leader of an organized crime group.
The three crime leaders are among the many internationally wanted criminals whose capture in Turkey Yerlikaya has announced on X since taking office in early June.
During the time in office of Yerlikaya’s predecessor, Süleyman Soylu, Turkey faced allegations of involvement in international drug trafficking, primarily driven by Turkish mob boss Sedat Peker. In a series of dramatic videos in 2021, Peker accused Soylu and other high-ranking officials of protecting and facilitating cocaine trafficking networks.
Soylu’s departure from the ministry had brought his alleged involvement in international drug trafficking and ties to mafia groups into the spotlight, leading to significant changes in the Turkish police force and crackdowns on international drug rings.