Authorities have taken into custody another international drug cartel leader in Turkey, where many wanted individuals have been captured since Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya took office following a cabinet reshuffle in June 2023, the private DHA news agency reported on Friday.
Alexander G., the ringleader of a Sweden-based drug cartel who was wanted on an INTERPOL Red Notice by Swedish authorities, has been apprehended in a drug raid in İstanbul, along with 80 others.
The operation, carried out by officers from the narcotics branch of the İstanbul Police Department, targeted suspects throughout İstanbul with warrants for drug trafficking.
According to DHA, Alexander G. was handed down a prison sentence of almost 12 years in 2022 for “organized drug trafficking.”
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.
Soylu was appointed interior minister shortly after a coup attempt in Turkey in July 2016. He was the architect of a massive purge and the arrest of thousands of non-loyalist citizens on bogus terrorism or coup charges.
He was elected to parliament in the May general election as a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmaker and enjoys parliamentary immunity.