Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has been announcing on his social media account that a criminal organization has been "busted" almost every day since June 4, when he took office. According to the announced data, more than 9 thousand people were arrested in the last 5 months in operations carried out against criminal organizations whose existence has been known for years. Operations against criminal organizations came to the fore with the raids on September 8 against the gang headed by Ayhan Bora Kaplan, which operates throughout Ankara and is involved in many crimes such as "armed wounding, aggravated looting, intentional wounding, extortion". A total of 18 people were arrested in the investigation of Ayhan Bora Kaplan, who was caught at Esenboğa Airport while trying to escape abroad. Afterwards, it was announced that an operation was carried out against a criminal organization every day.

 

 AT LEAST 9 THOUSAND ARRESTS

 

The operations carried out against members of the "Daltonlar Gang", "Anacurlar Gang", "Gedik" and "Görenerler Gang" in Istanbul, the number of people detained in operations against criminal organizations in this process reached at least 2 thousand 979. 748 of them were arrested. On the other hand, it was announced that 98 thousand 451 people were detained and 8 thousand 379 people were arrested in the operations against drug gangs since the beginning of June. 178 people were detained in different cities during operations against loan sharks.

 

'THE BACKGROUND SHOULD BE REVEALED'

 

Evaluating this operation and gang formation, journalist-writer Erk Acarer said: "These gangs did not appear suddenly. We are witnessing the story of a ruined Turkey. It is necessary to be cautious here and ask why these operations are being carried out now? From here we ask, 'I wonder if a relative and desired clean-up will be carried out and these files will be put on someone?' and 'AKP will clear itself and take part in the local elections. Is it going to be like this?  It seems that Ali Yerlikaya is trying to somehow solve what Süleyman Soylu messed up. But the cadres, groups, institutions in Turkey, and the cryptos that feed on rent within the institutions are so intertwined that a long-term cleaning needs to be done. It would not be meaningful to only highlight the perpetrators and not reveal what is behind the scenes."

 

'IT CANNOT BE SOLVED BEFORE CLEANING THE SWAMP'

 

Emphasizing that gangs in Turkey are built on several foundations, Acarer said: "These are drug trade, virtual betting, human trafficking and arms trade. These must be eliminated first. This issue cannot be solved by killing the flies there before the swamp itself is cleaned. In Turkey, the state detains and arrests dozens of people every day.It is necessary to evaluate the conditions in real terms. We look at where the arms and drug dealers feed, crypto money and illegal. It is necessary to look at where the betting sites' influence extends. If you do not do these, the situation we always say will be 'Murder cannot be solved with hitmen'. It is necessary to address these concerns. There are so many subcontracted organizations, who will you catch?"

 

'OPERATION IS NOT THE SOLUTION'

 

Stating that there is a huge money traffic in the drug trade, Acarer said: “They offered incredible opportunities to children living in the slums in an environment of economic crisis. They all started to drive the most beautiful cars and live in houses. These young people lack money, education and politics. On the other hand, we do not know how many immigrant children fall into the arms of criminal gangs because they cannot integrate. This also needs to be evaluated separately. A two-way market has been created in Turkey, from west to east and from east to west. First you will prevent these barons from running rampant, then we'll see. Saying 'We carried out an operation, we are drying this place' is not a solution. But this is very difficult. Now things are out of control. You can make young people commit any murder you want for 20 thousand liras, give them 2 grams of drugs and make them commit any crime you want. We see that many of the recent mafia showdowns are like this."

 

'TURKEY IS THE CENTER OF CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS'

 

Evaluating the interest of foreign gangs in Turkey, Acarer said: "Where are the imported gangs most comfortable? They prefer the courthouses of the world that do not work well. Look at the bribery wheel that rotates in the courthouse, the bribery wheel that rotates in the police department, and the people who are intertwined with criminal organizations hidden in these places. It will be seen why these gangs use these places. They are not going to use Sweden. On the contrary, those who cannot do business here prefer a few countries, including Turkey. On the other hand, this gang market has moved from Mexico to Turkey. They issue fake passports, drop existing files, and ignore the murders they commit. That's why they choose these places easily."

 

MA / Tolga Güney