Organized crime group dismantled

Minister Yerlikaya stated in a post on his social media account that operations were carried out in Diyarbakır, Ankara, Bingöl, Antalya, Aydın, Bursa, Çorum, and Kahramanmaraş as a result of efforts coordinated by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the General Directorate of Security's Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime (KOM) Department, and conducted by the Diyarbakır Provincial Police Department's Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Branch.

Sharing the information that the organized crime group led by Umut Öken had been dismantled, Yerlikaya noted that 33 suspects were also captured.

"I want our dear nation to know that no matter the size, we will dismantle organized crime groups and deliver them to justice. Our operations will continue with determination, whether at dawn or at sunset," said Yerlikaya, who shared the following information regarding the operation:

"It was determined that the suspects attempted to seize the businesses of tradespeople operating in the Sur district and shot at the workplaces of those who resisted; they settled into a business center in the Sur district and used it as their base, eventually forcing other tradespeople to abandon their shops by applying fear and pressure. It was identified that the organization used young children to carry out acts of injury and threats against tradespeople, forced victimized tradespeople to withdraw their complaints through pressure, coercion, and violence, attempted to build a reputation by exerting pressure on citizens in the Sur district, intervened in disputes between groups with existing hostilities, established so-called courts to act as mediators, and obtained financial gain in this manner."

Minister Yerlikaya also noted that 14 unlicensed pistols, 2 automatic pistols, 2 shotguns, and a large quantity of ammunition were seized.