Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi has urged Greece to extradite members of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and accelerate the return of wanted criminal gang leaders, calling for stronger cross-border security cooperation to combat terrorism and organized crime.

Speaking during an official visit to Athens on Friday, Çiftçi met with Greek Minister for Citizen Protection Michalis Chrysochoidis to discuss cooperation against terrorist organizations, emerging criminal networks and other forms of transnational crime.

"We expect our friends to recognize FETÖ's true face, support our fight against the organization and extradite its members to our country," Çiftçi said, according to a statement released after the meeting.

The talks focused on strengthening cooperation between the two countries' security and law enforcement agencies, including the exchange of information, the prevention of cross-border crime and measures against criminal networks operating across national borders.

Çiftçi said he hoped the meeting would produce tangible results in improving bilateral security cooperation, emphasizing that criminal organizations increasingly coordinate their activities across multiple countries and exploit differences between national legal systems.

He also called on Greek authorities to prevent criminal gang leaders held in Greek prisons from continuing to communicate with their networks and coordinate criminal activities while in detention.

"Some leaders of criminal organizations who have been arrested and are being held in Greece can unfortunately continue to communicate with their organizations and carry out operations despite being in custody," he said. "It is extremely important to prevent this. We particularly expect their extradition processes to be accelerated."

Faster extradition demand

Extradition procedures featured prominently in Çiftçi's discussions, with the minister raising concerns about cases in which the transfer of suspects to Türkiye has been halted shortly before completion.

He said some extradition procedures had been suspended or canceled after travel arrangements and tickets for the individuals concerned had already been finalized. In certain cases, he said, Greek authorities cited ongoing judicial proceedings in Greece, while others involved last-minute applications to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

According to Çiftçi, such interruptions have become more frequent in recent months, including after Turkish officials assigned to extradition duties had already traveled to Greece or to land border crossings to receive the individuals.

"These incidents negatively affect the predictability of extradition processes," he said.

The minister warned that repeated delays could create an incentive for wanted individuals seeking to evade extradition to travel to or remain in Greece.

To address the issue, he proposed making use of existing provisions under the bilateral readmission agreement and applying deportation procedures where the legal conditions are met.

"We can also make use of the provisions of the existing readmission agreement to prevent this situation," Çiftçi said. "The deportation mechanism can be applied to individuals for whom the necessary conditions are met."

The comments reflect Ankara's push to make extradition and law enforcement cooperation more predictable as authorities seek to pursue suspects whose alleged activities extend beyond Türkiye's borders.

The two countries' cooperation involves a range of issues, from organized criminal networks and terrorism to human trafficking, drug smuggling and irregular migration. Effective coordination, Turkish officials argue, is particularly important when suspects, criminal proceeds and communications networks span several jurisdictions.

Action against FETÖ

Çiftçi also pressed Greece to take action against FETÖ, the group responsible for the deadly 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye.

The minister said that the organization's activities, including the misuse of refugee status, posed a threat not only to Türkiye but also to public order and the interests of Greece and other countries where the group operates.

He called for greater recognition of the organization's activities and urged Greek authorities to cooperate more closely with Türkiye in securing the return of its members.

The issue remains politically sensitive in bilateral relations. Following the failed coup attempt in 2016, some coup plotters fled to Greece and sought asylum, prompting a dispute between Ankara and Athens over their return. Greek judicial authorities rejected Türkiye's extradition requests, citing concerns including the defendants' right to a fair trial. The case became one of the most prominent legal disputes between the neighboring countries following the coup attempt.

Çiftçi said Türkiye's security forces continued to fight organizations including the PKK, Daesh, the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) and FETÖ, adding that the direct terrorist threat facing the country had been substantially reduced through those efforts.

He also urged Greek authorities to ensure that FETÖ did not exploit the more positive atmosphere created by the "terror-free Türkiye" initiative.

Çiftçi said the group's activities presented a broader security concern and referred to legally disguised operations reflected in Europol and intelligence reports.

He called for cooperation to prevent the organization from using political or legal circumstances in other countries to maintain its activities.

Organized crime battle

Beyond terrorism and extradition, the meeting addressed efforts to combat organized criminal groups, including networks with members or leaders operating in both countries.

Çiftçi said recent contacts between Turkish and Greek law enforcement agencies, together with improved communication channels and real-time information sharing, had contributed to an increase in operations targeting Turkish-origin organized criminal groups in Greece.

He said the cooperation had resulted in numerous suspects being brought to justice and thanked Greek authorities for their efforts.

"We are pleased with this situation and thank Greece for its efforts," he said.

The minister's remarks highlighted the importance of operational cooperation between neighboring countries as criminal networks increasingly operate across borders rather than within a single jurisdiction.

Authorities must be able to exchange information, identify suspects and coordinate investigations even when members of the same organization are located in different countries, Çiftçi said.

The Greek side also raised concerns about criminal groups operating in Greece whose members are of Turkish origin. According to the Greek Ministry of Citizen Protection, Chrysochoidis called for Turkish authorities to seek Interpol Red Notices for wanted suspects when domestic arrest warrants have been issued, facilitating their arrest in Greece and transfer to Turkish authorities. The Greek minister also called for stronger intelligence sharing and closer operational coordination.

Çiftçi provided figures on Türkiye's operations against organized crime, saying security forces had conducted 1,741 operations since the beginning of the year.

Those operations had dismantled 625 criminal organizations, including 22 with international reach, while 8,170 members of organized criminal groups had been arrested and remanded in custody, he said.

The minister also said authorities had arrested 35,819 people accused of drug trafficking over the same period as part of an intensified campaign against narcotics networks.

He said operations against organized criminal groups would continue with the same determination.

The figures, presented by the minister, cover a broad range of enforcement activities and illustrate the scale of the government's campaign against criminal networks. They also formed part of Ankara's argument for stronger cooperation with neighboring countries, particularly where suspects can cross borders or maintain links with organizations operating abroad.

Drug trafficking and other forms of organized crime often involve networks that coordinate the movement of illicit goods, money and personnel across multiple jurisdictions. Authorities therefore increasingly rely on information sharing and coordinated investigations to identify leadership structures and disrupt operations.

Çiftçi said international cooperation was essential to prevent criminal groups from exploiting gaps between national law enforcement systems.

Çiftçi also drew attention to what Turkish authorities describe as a new generation of organized criminal groups, saying their growing reliance on social media and digital communication platforms had changed how they recruit members, coordinate activities and promote their operations.

He said these networks use online platforms to organize, spread propaganda and attract new recruits, while also using digital channels to maintain communication across national borders.

Turkish authorities monitor social media activity as part of efforts to track the actions of these organizations and follow the proceeds of their crimes, he said.

The minister argued that the transnational nature of such groups makes cooperation between governments increasingly important, as investigations conducted in a single country may not be sufficient to identify or disrupt an entire network.

"No country can achieve results in the fight against crime on its own," Çiftçi said. "Compared with conventional criminal organizations of the past, international cooperation has become even more important in combating new-generation criminal groups."

He called on Greece to give particular attention to Turkish requests concerning the arrest and extradition of leaders and members of emerging organized criminal networks that Ankara considers a priority security threat.

The growing use of digital platforms presents law enforcement agencies with additional challenges, particularly when suspects communicate through services accessible from multiple countries or when financial transactions and other criminal activities leave evidence across different jurisdictions.

Çiftçi's appeal for closer cooperation was therefore not limited to the physical transfer of suspects. It also encompassed the exchange of operational intelligence and the coordination needed to track networks whose members can continue to communicate and organize activities across borders.

Migration management

The meeting also took place against the backdrop of broader cooperation between Türkiye and Greece, particularly on irregular migration and border security.

Çiftçi said relations between the two countries had developed in recent years under the leadership of their respective leaders, allowing cooperation to continue on several important issues despite longstanding differences.

He pointed to the trilateral mechanism involving Türkiye, Greece and Bulgaria as an example of cooperation in combating irregular migration, saying progress had been made through the arrangement.

The three countries have a shared interest in addressing migration routes through southeastern Europe and preventing criminal networks from exploiting people seeking to cross borders. Cooperation can involve information exchange, border management and action against smugglers and trafficking networks.

Çiftçi said Türkiye had developed a comprehensive migration management model under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, which he described as an example for other countries.

According to the minister, the approach seeks to balance public security with human rights, international law and humanitarian principles.

He said Türkiye supported regular migration through appropriate mechanisms while seeking to address irregular migration by tackling its underlying causes rather than focusing solely on border enforcement.

Çiftçi described the country's approach as a comprehensive, five-pillar strategy designed to begin and end at the source of migration movements.

The minister's remarks placed security cooperation within a wider framework in which irregular migration, human smuggling and organized crime are treated as interconnected challenges requiring coordination among neighboring countries.