Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced the arrest of 58 suspects wanted by 18 countries under an Interpol Red Notice with the "Cage-28" operation carried out simultaneously in 11 provinces.
Taking to his social media handle, Yerlikaya said that the government has a resolute stance against national and international organized crime entities, asserting that they won't tolerate disturbance to public peace, regardless of the organization's size or the alerts issued against them.
After collaboration between the Interpol-Europol Department, the Presidency of fight against trafficking and organized crimes (KOM), and the General Directorate of Security Intelligence Directorate, provincial police directorates in Istanbul, Antalya, Sakarya, Bolu, Çanakkale, Eskişehir, Izmir, Manisa, Muğla, Şanlıurfa and Yalova took part in an extensive operation.
This operation led to Interpol issuing a Red Notice across 11 provinces and involving 18 countries, including the United States, Germany, Azerbaijan, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Belarus, Morocco, Palestine, India, Israel, Iran, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan and Jordan.
During the operation, individuals apprehended were discovered to be associated with various criminal activities including drug trafficking, money laundering, assault, counterfeiting, robbery, fraud, human trafficking, homicide, prostitution, theft and smuggling.
Moreover, their records indicated involvement in bribery, corruption and forgery.
Yerlikaya underscored the ongoing efforts of the police force in their investigations, saying: "I commend our brave police officers who conducted the operation in the early hours of this morning. May they be safeguarded from any harm. Our nation's prayers are with you. Our government will always pursue and hold accountable terrorists, their accomplices, organized crime syndicates, drug traffickers and criminal networks."
"They will be dealt with decisively, and this will persist," Yerlikaya added.
