Montenegro extradites organized crime leader Binali Camgöz to Turkey

Montenegrin Minister of Justice Bojan Bozovic held a press conference to announce that Turkish citizen Binali Camgöz had been extradited to Turkey under heavy security measures. Providing information on the process leading to the decision to extradite Camgöz, the Montenegrin minister announced that the issue of Binali Camgöz posing a national security threat to Montenegro was discussed at the National Security Council meeting held this week.

Lazar Scepanovic, Head of the Montenegrin Police Anti-Crime Department, stated in his press briefing that Camgöz was sent to Turkey by plane at 19:15 local time in the evening and that approximately 40 police officers were involved in the extradition process.

Reporting that high security measures were taken during the extradition process, Scepanovic said, “An Interpol red notice had been issued against this individual for serious crimes. According to the records of the Montenegrin and Turkish police, he is considered a high-risk person. He is the leader of an organized crime group operating in Turkey and an individual who has established a network of cooperation with organized crime groups in Montenegro.”

Binali Camgöz, who is wanted in Turkey for numerous crimes including assault, extortion, property damage, and murder, had fled to Georgia illegally and then moved to the Balkans using a fake identity he obtained there. Camgöz, for whom the Turkish Interpol had issued a red notice, was captured in Montenegro in July 2022.

The extradition of Camgöz, whose imprisonment and extradition were requested by Turkey, was approved by the Montenegrin judiciary in April 2023.