97 people arrested in 'Sibergöz-47' operation

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on his social media account that 97 suspects, whose accounts had a total transaction volume of 21 billion TL, were arrested in the 'Sibergöz-47' operations conducted across 27 provinces centered in Mersin, Ağrı, and Antalya, targeting crimes of "Violation of the Law No. 7258 on the Regulation of Betting and Games of Chance in Football and Other Sports Competitions, Establishing an Organization for the Purpose of Committing Crimes, and Laundering Assets Derived from Crime." He noted that assets worth approximately 194 million 150 thousand TL, obtained through the laundering of proceeds from crime, including 12 residences, 6 automobiles, 4 motorcycles, 2 plots of land, and the suspects' bank, electronic money, and crypto asset service provider accounts, have been seized.

Minister Yerlikaya shared the details of the operations as follows:

"Under the coordination of the General Directorate of Security's Cybercrime Combat Department; in the 'SİBERGÖZ-47' operations carried out in Diyarbakır, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Elazığ, Adana, Batman, Bitlis, Bursa, İzmir, Malatya, Manisa, Tekirdağ, Tokat, Şırnak, Konya, İstanbul, Gaziantep, Muğla, Ordu, Balıkesir, Eskişehir, Denizli, Mardin, and Sakarya, centered in Mersin, Ağrı, and Antalya: As a result of the work carried out by the Mersin Provincial Police Department's Cybercrime Combat Branch, 52 suspects were arrested in operations conducted in Mersin, Diyarbakır, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Elazığ, Adana, Batman, Bitlis, Bursa, İzmir, Malatya, Manisa, Tekirdağ, Tokat, and Şırnak for running illegal betting sites and having a transaction volume of approximately 2 billion TL in their bank accounts.

As a result of the work carried out by the Ağrı Provincial Police Department's Cybercrime Combat Branch; 26 suspects were arrested in operations conducted in Ağrı, Adana, Konya, Mersin, İstanbul, Antalya, Gaziantep, Malatya, Muğla, and Ordu, who were found to have obtained Papara accounts belonging to others in exchange for money to use on illegal betting sites, attempted to launder money obtained from crime through bank accounts and crypto asset service providers, and had a transaction volume of approximately 19 billion TL in their accounts.

As a result of the work carried out by the Antalya Provincial Police Department's Cybercrime Combat Branch; 6 suspects were arrested in operations conducted in İstanbul, İzmir, and Manisa, who were found to have introduced themselves as 'Investment Consultants,' induced citizens they contacted to download mobile applications with promises of 'Forex Investment/High Returns,' showed non-existent earnings to the complainants in the application, and demanded money under the guise of 'File Fees, Tax Fees, etc.' to obtain these earnings, thereby gaining unfair profit.

As a result of the work carried out by the Antalya Provincial Police Department's Anti-Terrorism (TEM) Branch; 13 suspects were arrested in operations conducted in İstanbul, Bursa, Mersin, Balıkesir, Eskişehir, Denizli, Gaziantep, Mardin, Sakarya, and Tekirdağ, who were found to have illegally obtained the identity information of citizens, including those from various professional groups, harassed and threatened them, targeted various state institutions with false reports, and caused victimization of individuals. These arrests followed the examination of digital material obtained from a previously arrested suspect by the Antalya Cybercrime Combat Branch. As a result of the operations: Unlicensed pistols and hunting rifles, as well as a large amount of Turkish Lira and numerous digital materials, were seized.

Our virtual patrols in the Cyber Homeland are on duty 24/7. Our fight against cybercrimes and criminals will continue with determination. I congratulate our heroic police officers who carried out the operations. May God protect them. Our nation's prayers are with you."

News Source: 12punto