Ali Yerlikaya announces! 'Mercek' operation against arms smugglers in 76 provinces: 1,858 detained

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, in a statement on his social media account, noted that in the 'Mercek' operations carried out over the last 4 days in 76 provinces against individuals carrying unlicensed weapons and arms smugglers, 1,212 unlicensed pistols, 167 illegal blank-firing pistols, 44 long-barreled rifles, and 225 unlicensed hunting rifles were seized, and 1,858 suspects were detained.

7??6?? İLDE SON 4?? GÜNDE RUHSATSIZ SİLAH TAŞIYAN ŞAHISLARA VE SİLAH KAÇAKÇILARINA YÖNELİK OLARAK DÜZENLENEN "MERCEK" OPERASYONLARINDA;

?? 1??2??1??2?? Ruhsatsız Tabanca,
?? 1??6??7?? Kaçak Kurusıkı Tabanca,
?? 4??4?? Uzun Namlulu Tüfek,
?? 2??2??5?? Ruhsatsız Av Tüfeği Ele Geçirildi.… pic.twitter.com/UEngsDXYFs

— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) October 28, 2023

Minister Yerlikaya provided the following information regarding the operation:

"May our noble nation rest assured; our fight against those who supply unlicensed weapons and arms smugglers will continue with determination.

By our Provincial Police Departments and Provincial Gendarmerie Commands;

In the operations carried out in Istanbul, Adana, Izmir, Diyarbakir, Bursa, Mersin, Gaziantep, Konya, Ankara, Sanliurfa, Kocaeli, Hatay, Samsun, Antalya, Sakarya, Tekirdag, Elazig, Kastamonu, Malatya, Denizli, Balikesir, Batman, Osmaniye, Eskisehir, Aydin, Canakkale, Manisa, Kahramanmaras, Mardin, Adiyaman, Nigde, Rize, Corum, Kirikkale, Sirnak, Trabzon, Aksaray, Kayseri, Kirklareli, Sivas, Tokat, Van, Yalova, Afyonkarahisar, Duzce, Erzincan, Erzurum, Giresun, Mus, Bolu, Kars, Kilis, Mugla, Nevsehir, Usak, Zonguldak, Agri, Amasya, Bartin, Bingol, Bitlis, Edirne, Karaman, Kirsehir, Kutahya, Ordu, Siirt, Sinop, Artvin, Bilecik, Cankiri, Gumushane, Hakkari, Isparta, Karabuk, and Yozgat, 1,212 unlicensed pistols were seized.

The unlicensed weapons seized and suspects detained in some of our cities are as follows: In Istanbul, 285 pistols and 9 long-barreled rifles were seized. 358 suspects were detained.
In Adana, 139 pistols and 5 long-barreled rifles were seized. 272 suspects were detained. In Izmir, 82 pistols were seized. 91 suspects were detained.
In Diyarbakir, 58 pistols and 7 long-barreled rifles were seized. 71 suspected arms smugglers were detained. In Bursa, 49 pistols and 1 long-barreled rifle were seized. 74 suspects were detained. In Mersin, 48 pistols were seized. 70 suspects were detained. I congratulate our heroic Gendarmerie and our heroic Police who carried out the operations.
We are after the organized crime groups that disturb the peace of our people and those who supply them with weapons. We are determined to deliver them to justice."

News Source: İHA