Çorum and Sinop-Based Major Operations Cripple Two Organized Crime Gangs
The Interior Minister, Ali Yerlikaya, announced that the gendarmerie operations, code-named “MAHZEN-50,” were conducted across six provinces with Çorum and Sinop serving as the central hubs. These operations successfully dismantled two separate organized crime groups, including their leaders. In Çorum, Yunus Emre Akyıldız and Gözde Akyıldız, and in Sinop, Mustafa Demir were arrested.
In these operations, 39 suspects belonging to the organized crime groups were apprehended, 27 of whom were formally arrested while six were placed under judicial control.
“Our cherished citizens should know that we will never give in to crime, organized criminal organizations, or gangs,” stated Minister Yerlikaya on his social media account, emphasizing the government’s unwavering stance against crime.
Çorum:
Coordinated by the Kargı Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Gendarmerie General Command’s Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Department (KOM), the operations in Çorum, Istanbul, Ankara, Amasya, and Çanakkale resulted in the arrest of 25 suspects. Twenty-one of these suspects were detained, while four were placed under judicial control.
The investigation revealed that the suspects provided facilities for illegal gambling and betting based on sports events, conducted unauthorized lottery and betting games through international websites, and laundered money accrued from such activities. They purchased gold and jewelry to distance their illegal earnings from their sources and transferred these funds to cryptocurrency accounts to further conceal their origins.
Joint efforts with the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) led to the seizure of assets gained from criminal activities, including 10 vehicles, five apartments, 22 plots of land, two pieces of land, 22 gardens, and 597 bank accounts.
Sinop:
Overseen by the Ayancık Public Prosecutor’s Office, KOM, and with intelligence support, the Sinop operations targeted 14 suspects involved in loan sharking, intentional injury, threats, and violations of the firearms law (6136). Six of these suspects were detained, and two were placed under judicial control.
The suspects were found to lend money at high interest rates to needy individuals, demanding them to sign blank promissory notes. They then collected these loans through intimidation, threats, and violence. In cases where individuals failed to repay, the suspects would fill in the blank promissory notes to seize the victims’ property forcibly. They were also implicated in defrauding numerous merchants through bad checks.
The operations led to the confiscation of various assets, including 112 title deeds worth 448 million TL, 347 debt securities worth 20 million TL, 24 checks worth 4 million TL, five unauthorized firearms, large sums of foreign currency and gold, numerous signed blank promissory notes, and digital materials.
Additionally, assets worth approximately 124 million TL, including 17 apartments, 10 plots of land, eight vehicles, two shops, and 112 bank accounts linked to the crime, were seized.
Minister Ali Yerlikaya extended his gratitude to the Kargı and Ayancık Public Prosecutor’s Offices, MASAK personnel, and the heroic gendarmerie forces for their effective operations, noting that the nation’s prayers are with them.