Ten foreign nationals who were wanted on INTERPOL Red Notices by the authorities in six countries have been apprehended in İstanbul, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced.
Yerlikaya, who has announced the capture of many wanted individuals in Turkey since taking office in early June, on Thursday said on X that 10 others sought on INTERPOL Red Notices were apprehended in İstanbul as part of “Operation Cage-30.”
6️⃣ ülke tarafından haklarında INTERPOL 🟥 Kırmızı Bülten ile arama kaydı bulunan 1️⃣0️⃣ şahıs “KAFES-30” Operasyonuyla İstanbul’da yakalandı.
Aziz Milletimizin Bilmesini İsterim ki;
Hangi büyüklükte olursa olsun, hangi bülten ile aranırsa aransın, halkımızın huzurunu kaçıran… pic.twitter.com/0tQ6gTwRP6— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) January 11, 2024
According to the minister, the people were wanted on INTERPOL Red Notices by the authorities in Iran, South Korea, Syria, China, Uzbekistan and Switzerland.
Among those apprehended are Taiguo Liu, wanted in Switzerland for fraud, and Paria Ghasemi, Reza Fakhr Attar, and Edris Moradi, wanted in Iran for the same crime.
People sought for various other crimes such as human trafficking, migrant smuggling, money laundering and gambling include Ali Abouyeg, Xin An, Omid Alaghi, Tae Yong Sung, Dilnoza Umarova and Mavluda Ulmasova.
The 10 detainees 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.