A recent court decision to hand over 23 luxury cars seized in operations against criminal organizations to Turkey’s General Directorate of Security has sparked a debate on its legitimacy and practicality, the Artı Gerçek news website reported on Wednesday.
Vehicles seized in past operations were kept under protection in parking lots for extended periods of time.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya on Tuesday announced on X, formerly Twitter, that the court has put the 23 luxury cars, seized in several operations recently conducted by the Istanbul Police Department, into the service of law enforcement. The minister also posted a video of the luxury vehicles turned into police cars.
Göreve geldiğimiz ilk günden itibaren bizden hep şu sözü duydunuz: Türkiye’nin Huzuru…
İstanbul Emniyet Müdürlüğümüzün organize suç örgütlerine karşı gerçekleştirdiği başarılı operasyonlar sonucu 23 araç ele geçirilmişti.
Mahkeme kararınca da bu araçlar emniyetimize verildi.… pic.twitter.com/mzBtgp5EgU— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) December 26, 2023
Among the vehicles, the majority of which belonged to the Comanchero Gang, are expensive models such as the Ferrari 488 GTB, Bentley Continental GT, Porsche Taycan and the latest models of Land Rover, Audi, Volvo, Mercedes and BMW.
The Birgün daily reported on Wednesday that the video of the luxury cars shared by Yerlikaya was prepared by the Ayyıldız Medya PR agency. The amount the ministry paid to the agency for the video is unknown.
Lawyer Baran Doğan told Artı Gerçek that the transfer of the luxury vehicles to the police before the conclusion of the judicial process against the suspects who owned them is “inappropriate.”
“The rights of the suspect or defendant related to this property must be preserved. … If these individuals are acquitted at the end of the trial, won’t they seek accountability? Constitutional rights are at stake; these individuals can sue for compensation,” Doğan said.
The lawyer added that the presentation of the luxury cars to the media as a “show” demonstrates that the properties of the suspects are not legally protected in Turkey and that the presumption of innocence is violated.
Social media users also drew attention to the high maintenance and fuel costs of luxury vehicles as well as the fact that they would be paid for by taxpayers. They suggested putting the vehicles up for sale and using the proceeds to purchase more budget-friendly vehicles for the police force.
Turkey has long been suffering from an economic crisis that has worsened since the beginning of 2020. The country’s currency lost 36 percent of its value against the US dollar in 2023.
Journalist Semra Topçu revealed in January 2020 that Turkey had the highest number of official cars compared to other countries around the world, with a total of 125,000.
Topçu said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s office had use of 268 official cars in early 2020, while only two official vehicles had been used by the presidency when his Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002.
Erdoğan and his ruling AKP have long been criticized for spending taxpayers’ money on luxury transportation.