Hakan Ayik, a wanted drug smuggler in Australia, and 36 other members of an international organized crime ring that is being sought by authorities in the United States and New Zealand were apprehended by Turkey, the country announced on Thursday.
The arrests in Istanbul, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, were directed at the armed motorcycle gang Comanchero, which he claimed was engaged in international drug trafficking, manslaughter, looting, and money laundering.
Ayik, known as the "Facebook gangster" in Australia, has been on the state of New South Wales's most wanted list for the "supply of large commercial quantities of drugs" for more than ten years.
According to the FBI, using an FBI-run phone app, he unintentionally assisted law enforcement in monitoring and apprehending hundreds of suspected criminals in recent years.
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According to Yerlikaya on the social media platform X, Ayik, Reis, and Duax Hohepa Ngakuru have been in charge of the crime ring since at least last year.
According to him, Ngakuru, who was also detained, is wanted in New Zealand, while Australian and American authorities seek Ayik.
The Comanchero bike gang was sued by Istanbul's chief public prosecutor, who claimed the group laundered its assets in Turkey.
According to Yerlikaya, the drug trade extended throughout South America, Australia, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, South Korea, and South Africa.
Ayik's hotel in Istanbul was confirmed to be owned by staff in 2021, but Reuters could not get in touch with them then.
The Turkish government released a video of the arrests, which showed armed drug officers and special agents breaking down doors to homes and apartments, apprehending several men, and taking handguns and stacks of foreign cash.
