A well-known leader of the underworld of drug trafficking in Turkey has been captured after a 9-year search by the police, the Anadolu Agency reported, citing Justice Minister Akan Gurlek, BTA reported.
“Regardless of where the drug lords are hiding and what methods they use to cover their tracks, they will not escape the determined pursuit of our state and justice“, Minister Gurlek said in connection with the police operation in Istanbul.
In a post on his profile on the Turkish social network Nsosyal, Gurlek pointed out that “with all the capabilities of the state and with the active coordination between the judicial authorities, security services and intelligence, "an uncompromising fight against drugs and organized crime is being waged."
Recalling that the main target in this fight is the "drug lords," Gürlek noted that "as a result of joint actions carried out in coordination with the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Istanbul and numerous other relevant services, İslam Yakut, the leader of a criminal organization for international drug trafficking, was captured and detained."
The suspect has been wanted since 2017, continuing to lead the criminal organization from hideouts in the country and abroad, Minister Gürlek said.
According to him, the services have tracked encrypted communication platforms used by Yakut, through which a criminal network was uncovered that organized the trafficking of heroin from Iran and Afghanistan to Europe, as well as synthetic drugs from Europe to Turkey. This amounts to a total quantity of two tons of narcotics seized on the territory of the country and European countries, the minister announced.