Minister Yerlikaya: '92 billion liras worth of assets seized following MASAK report'

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya visited the AKP Esenyurt District Presidency. Minister Yerlikaya was accompanied by Deputy Interior Minister Mehmet Sağlam, AKP Istanbul Deputy Cüneyt Yüksel, and AKP Esenyurt Mayoral Candidate Hamit Öncü.

"92 BILLION LIRAS WORTH OF ASSETS SEIZED"

Speaking about social media influencers who have recently been in the news due to operations and the seizure of their assets, Yerlikaya said, "There were influencers, where are they now? We have no issue with anyone's property or how they manage it. But if there is a complaint and MASAK has investigated it and says 'easy come, easy go,' we say stop. We investigate, we present it to our prosecutor. Our prosecutor then forwards it to the court.

The court says, 'Come, do it this way.' In total, 92 billion liras worth of assets in Turkey have been seized by the court following a MASAK report. From whom did we take these vehicles? Our Istanbul Police Department applied to the prosecutor's office regarding the movable and immovable assets of 421 organized crime groups, and the prosecutor's office applied to the relevant court. The court stated that it found this application appropriate.

We have allocated these movable vehicles to the Istanbul Police Department. After they were allocated to the Istanbul Police Department, I said that we have dismantled these groups that tormented our people and unjustly seized their property, and we have delivered them to justice. If we took the keys from them, we said let's make these patrol cars for our heroic police. This was reported not only in Istanbul but also in the written press and social media worldwide. The message given was very powerful. Whether you come from this country or another. Whether you are local or national. If you are an organized crime group, we will eventually bring you to your knees. We will deliver you to justice. If you have a car, we will take its keys and turn it into a patrol car for our police," he said.

"A FREE ENVIRONMENT"

Following his visit to the AKP Esenyurt District Presidency, Yerlikaya attended the 'Peace of Istanbul, Peace of Esenyurt' iftar gathering and spoke about the March 31 local government elections, saying, "We are preparing for a democratic festival. A free environment. Everyone is presenting their case, just as it is being done on this stage, to those who love and believe in them, to those who have been mayors before and what they have done and what they will do next, and to all candidates who have emerged saying 'let me come instead of them,' explaining how we will bring this city to a certain point if you walk with us. Democracy is such a beautiful blessing. May God let us know the value of this blessing," he stated.

"TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE"

Commenting on the armed attack on a famous restaurant in Etiler in recent days, Yerlikaya said, "Just four days ago, they committed an act of indecency at a venue from the back of a motorcycle. They fired shots. On the evening of the 2nd day, I shared that they were all delivered to justice. Is it right to act like that, riding on the back of a subcontracted motorcycle, acting like you are better than other tradesmen who do their jobs well and satisfy their customers? Who are you? Who are you? At this point, my dear brothers, 112 calls. Look, two heads are better than one. We are one, we are together. We must cooperate in the fight against the insolent and the thieves. We have intelligence, we have everything, but I want to solve in 5 hours what I would otherwise solve in 5 days," he said.

Stating that 33 percent of the 310 thousand prisoners in jails are there for drug-related crimes, Yerlikaya said, "What are we doing to these insolent people who dare to poison our children, our youth, and our future, and who worship nothing but money? We are determined to catch them and deliver them to justice, whether at dawn or at dusk, whether they are planned or on the street, and we are working on it. 33 percent of the 310 thousand people in prison are from these groups. During the 10 months I have been in office here in Turkey, 114 tons, 38 million units, and 156 million roots were seized.

4 thousand 744 people were arrested. There are 2 thousand 403 judicial control cases. But I want to tell you something different today. We are fighting against this more vigorously and with more determination than ever before, from the largest to the smallest, from ports to fishing shelters, from marinas to land, sea, and air gates, at every hour, because we do not want even one of our young people to fall into that difficult situation.

America has surrendered. The European Union has surrendered. If it is above a certain amount, there is no penalty. They have created certain corners where you can use it. We cannot do this with our civilization's belief values. We are the most honorable of creatures. What do we become when reason is disabled? The door to every kind of crime is opened wide. Can we allow this?" he said.

SPOKE ABOUT IRREGULAR MIGRATION

Touching upon the fight against irregular migrants in his speech after the iftar program, Minister Yerlikaya said, "Regarding irregular migration, look at where we have come in 10 months in Istanbul. We gave 103 mobile migration vehicles here. There are 1 million 88 thousand people staying legally without disturbing our tourists.

Without making them uneasy either. We found this. We are the 15th largest city in the world.

In the European Union and neighboring countries, they have started to take this as an example. Look, these include a fingerprint scanner, an interpreter, and a migration expert. And right now, all countries of the European Union are congratulating us. They have also taken it as an example," he said.

News Source: İHA