By Adedeji Fathia Bamidele (SIWES Student, OGITECH)
On Wednesday, Turkey revealed the apprehension of 56 high-priority suspects sought by 18 nations for offenses spanning drug dealing, money laundering, murder, counterfeiting, and assault.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya disclosed that these individuals were flagged on Interpol’s “red notice” and “diffusion message” systems, with the suspects being sought in the United States, Germany, India, and various regions across Asia, the Middle East, and former Soviet republics.
The operation, spanning 11 provinces, including Istanbul, involved coordinated security sweeps. The names of the detained were not disclosed by Yerlikaya’s office.
Recent weeks have seen a series of high-profile raids by the Turkish interior ministry and MIT intelligence service, targeting individuals associated with the Islamic State group and those accused of spying for Israel.
Interior Minister Yerlikaya, a political ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been prominent in announcing significant arrests since his appointment last year and has opted not to run for mayor of Istanbul in the upcoming March 31 elections.
Erdogan’s party aims to reclaim control of Turkey’s major cities in these crucial polls.
