Police early Wednesday launched simultaneous operations in 13 provinces to take 40 suspected members of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) into custody, said police sources.

Istanbul anti-smuggling police teams carried out operations in line with information provided by confessed members of FETÖ seeking leniency, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking with the media.

The operations are still ongoing in Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Bursa, Konya, Kocaeli, Diyarbakır, Erzurum, Eskişehir, Kırşehir, Ordu, Uşak and Hakkari, with some already detained.

Separately, 26 of the 32 suspects were arrested yesterday over links to FETÖ, security sources said.

Warrants were issued by the Istanbul chief public prosecutor early Wednesday for the 32 suspects, including high-ranking police officers, according to the security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

The suspects are located in seven provinces across the country: Istanbul, Gaziantep, Kastamonu, Erzurum, Kayseri, Osmaniye and Ankara.

Meanwhile, 17 of 43 suspects previously detained were arrested in Manisa province, as a part of a FETÖ investigation carried out by the Manisa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

Led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gülen, FETÖ orchestrated the July 15 coup plot in Turkey as well as carried out a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

The July 15 defeated coup left 246 people dead and nearly 2,200 injured.