Mike Gerner Larsen, who is wanted by Danish authorities on an INTERPOL Red Notice for drug trafficking, has been captured in a raid in İstanbul, according to a Turkish Interior Ministry statement.
“Mike Gerner Larsen, who was found to be conducting extensive cocaine trafficking to Denmark with other accomplices, was captured in İstanbul’s Başakşehir district,” the ministry said on Tuesday in a written statement on X.
🟥 Danimarka tarafından çıkartılan İnterpol Kırmızı Bülteniyle “Uyuşturucu Madde Ticareti” suçundan uluslararası seviyede aranan Mike Gerner Larsen İstanbul’da düzenlenen “KUYU-38” operasyonuyla yakalandı❗️
⚠️Interpol-Europol Daire Başkanlığı ve Göç İdaresi Başkanlığı… pic.twitter.com/HkEcTPk6MH
— T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı (@TC_icisleri) November 12, 2024
The statement added that the apprehension occurred as part of “Operation WELL-38.”
The ministry vowed to continue the fight against organized crime networks, drug traffickers and anyone else who threatens public peace and to bring them to justice.
During the tenure of Interior Minister Ali 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, now living abroad, accused Soylu and other high-ranking officials of protecting and facilitating cocaine trafficking networks.
Following Soylu’s departure from the ministry, his alleged involvement in international drug trafficking and ties to mafia groups became a renewed focus of attention, leading to significant changes in the Turkish police force and crackdowns on international drug rings.
Soylu was appointed interior minister shortly after an unsuccessful 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 questionable terrorism or coup charges.
He was elected to parliament in the May general election as a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmaker and currently enjoys parliamentary immunity.