The Turkish Mafia

Got this e mail:

I have no clue about the Turkish Mafia and US connections. (I shouldve read that Dutch Turkish Mafia book lol, but I have so much to read!) But told this guy perhaps others would. Anyone here that can help out? (Pup?)

what i know is european turkish stories

about turkish in the USA, i wouldn't know

respects

hi pup,

you can tell your stories about the conection between turkish mafia and europe? i once read that the the turkish mafia are producing heroin for the calabrian mafia and they sell it across the world...is it correct?

partially:


a big portion they (the turkish babas) keep in their own hands:


very roughly you could say the turkish themselves supply North Europe of heroin while the calabrians sell it to the drugbarons in Southern europe


many yugos also in between as "the iron fist"

thanks pup


you knows about more activities of the calabrians in turkey ? or it's just heroin?

media report-

565 kg of heroin seized in turkey-bulgaria border in a truck on the way to holland,
this is the biggest turkish drug seize...
according to the media the drugs worth 28 million dollars on the market.


p.s- 565 kg of heroin should cost more than 28 million, no?

A prominent member of the turkish community in Holland shot dead...

Ex-voorzitter Türkiyemspor geliquideerd

In een Turks restaurant in Amsterdam-Osdorp is zaterdagavond de ex-voorzitter van de Amsterdamse voetbalclub Türkiyemspor, Nedim Imac, doodgeschoten. De markante Turk werd met meerdere schoten om het leven gebracht.


Alles wijst erop dat de moord op Imac gepland was. Voor de schoten gelost werden, vond geen ruzie plaats. De schutters kwamen het restaurant binnen, vuurden hun schoten af en vertrokken direct in een busje. De politie heeft het busje enkele uren later elders in Osdorp aangetroffen; het voertuig was overgoten met benzine, maar niet in brand gevlogen.


Imac was een prominent gezicht van de Turkse gemeenschap in Nederland. De succesvolle textielondernemer werd in 1990 voorzitter van de net opgerichte amateurclub FC Türkiyemspor. Dat bleef niet zonder gevolgen. Türkiyemspor bereikte in rap tempo de hoogste klasse van het amateurvoetbal en wed vorig jaar zelfs Nederlands kampioen bij de zondag-amateurs.


Maar na het binnenhalen van de titel kwam een negatieve geruchtenstroom op gang. Türkiyemspor zou op grote schaal belastingfraude hebben gepleegd. Een half jaar na het behalen van het kampioenschap nam Imac plotseling afscheid als voorzitter. Wegens familieomstandigheden, liet hij weten. ,,Het heeft niets te maken met een onderzoek van de belastingdienst of iets anders. Ik wil meer tijd aan mijn familie besteden.''


Zijn opvolger, Martin van den Heuvel, ontkende het gerucht dat de belastingdienst een forse naheffing had opgelegd. Een maand later bleek dat toch het geval. De fiscus eist een bedrag van 1,3 miljoen euro van Türkiyemspor, een ongekend hoog bedrag en voor een amateurclub niet te betalen. Türkiyemspor, dat in beroep is gegaan, zou een dergelijke naheffing niet overleven.


Van den Heuvel reageerde gisteravond geschokt op de dood van Imac. Met de club heeft de moord niets te maken, weet hij. ,,Misschien ligt het in de zakelijke sfeer. Ik kan me niet voorstellen wie dit gedaan heeft.''


Alle wedstrijden die zondag door teams van Türkiyemspor zouden worden gespeeld, zijn afgelast vanwege de dood van Imac.



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Door PETER GROENENDIJK

565kg does nt cost 28m in britain or the rest of europe the police do the price by every gram not by how much it goes for a kilo i heard asome where that the turkish mafia have link to people like curtis warren and hillbilly two of britains biggest drug dealers (hillbilly himself sells about 50kg week in kilo form)

That's why the police always says:the streetvalue is so on.....and on the streets they sell it per grams.

the Turkish Mafia action between the years 1965-1990 in israel
with the local israel Mafia.
node of dope with number families act as of this date in israel
now no pursuant i knew will be snarled

some of the turkish mafia do sell there drugs to other turkish gangs or turkish gangsters in north london(green lanes)and on the street they sell it to the use in wraps £10-0.1 of a gram so a kilo becomes £100k when the import sells it for £20k but t=down the line it less purer and small amounts eg a dealer will buy 2-3 onces to sell where as people at the top buy 200 kilos and smuggle it in

is there any good books on the turkish mafia

i read some where that the turkish gangs imorted herion in to london in the 90"s but they have now got other gangs moving in on the trade like the russian gangs which has seen alot of shotting in london and the yardies have had fallings out with turkish gangs over the price and money

i was wondering what does babas mean

Turkey determined to purge its Gladio
The prime minister has said a police inquiry resulting in the arrest of dozens of people, including ex-army officers and lawyers.
Perþembe, 24 Ocak 2008 06:49

It shows the determination of Turkey to bring an end to state and military-linked gangs.The suspects have not been charged, but analysts agree that the 33 detained on Tuesday suspected of membership in a nationalist group, calling themselves Ergenekon, are part of a shadowy network that masterminded many attacks in Turkey.

The discovery is not the first of its kind. In the past two years, the country's security forces unearthed a number of clandestine gangs countrywide. These groups, known to the public by such names as Atabeyler, Sauna and Ümraniye, or Ergenekon -- the latest one to be brought to light -- have tried to create chaos in the country at crucial times such as last year's presidential election. However, despite the fact that all these organizations were uncovered, with many of their members being discovered, no significant punishment has yet been imposed on the members of these gangs.

These gangs are apparently linked to a clandestine phenomenon that functions similarly to Operation Gladio -- a post-World War II NATO operation structured as "stay-behind" paramilitary organizations, with the official aim of countering a possible Soviet invasion through sabotage and clandestine operations. In fact, many analysts believe such networks of groups in Turkey today, sometimes referred to as the "deep state," are remnants of the Turkish leg of the actual Gladio.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan on Wednesday praised the security forces for the recent operations, speaking to the members of the press after a meeting with the Turkish Tradesmen's and Artisans' Confederation (TESK). He said his government has been fighting gangs and organized crime with resolve. "This has been ongoing for four to five years. In addition to our security forces there is also a process that the judiciary has been conducting. This is something we are happy about. This last incident concerning such crimes has shown in the clearest way that the executive branch and the judiciary are working in a wonderful solidarity," he stated.

"All democrats in Turkey have been looking forward to this sort of action by the government ... Everybody is now hoping something will happen but people remain very suspicious," said Cengiz Aktar, a professor at Ýstanbul's Bahçeþehir University, to Reuters.

"This is a very important test for the government, they will be judged by this ... If these people [are guilty and] are convicted, it will be very good for Turkish democracy as well as for our efforts to join the European Union," Reuters quoted Aktar as saying.

Ergenekon members trying to take power in their own hands

Aykut Cengiz Engin, Ýstanbul's chief prosecutor, in a written statement announced that earlier bans on reporting about the investigation remained in place. However, all Turkish newspapers, with the exception of a few ultra-nationalist ones, covered the operation nevertheless. "Never gone this deep before," read Yeni Þafak's headline yesterday. "The state takes on the deep state," Sabah said in one of its headlines. "A deep blow to a deep gang," said Star. "Operation against coup supporters," said Radikal, highlighting the military ties of the group.

The nationalist gang is suspected of involvement in a number of violent attacks, including the killing of an Italian priest in 2006, the assassination of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink and the murder of three Christians in the city of Malatya last year.

The suspects were detained in Ýstanbul and other regions in dawn raids Tuesday, the culmination of an eight-month operation, the police said. The police have been observing the actions of the suspects for over eight months as part of an investigation into a house full of explosives and ammunition found in Ýstanbul's Ümraniye district eight months ago.

Meanwhile, four more people were taken into custody in the southeastern city of Diyarbakýr in the afternoon yesterday as part of the same operation. Among the four, at least two are members of the ultra-nationalist Association for the Union of Patriotic Forces (VKGB), whose leaders are already under arrest facing several charges for crimes from theft and felony to blackmail and extortion.

Engin's statement said until Tuesday's detentions, 15 people had been arrested as part of the Ümraniye operation, which was launched on June 12, when an arms depot was found in the district. He said all 15 were arrested facing charges of "establishing and running an armed terrorist organization," "membership in this organization," "conspiring to encourage military member for not obeying orders," "acquiring information on state security," "possession of a serious amount of dangerous guns and ammunition" and "being in possession of explosives."

The suspects of Ergenekon

Engin's statement also listed the names of the 33 people taken into custody. The suspects include Veli Küçük, a retired major general who is also the alleged founder of an illegal intelligence unit in the gendarmerie, the existence of which is denied by officials; the controversial ultranationalist lawyer Kemal Kerinçsiz, who filed countless suits against Turkish writers and intellectuals who were at odds with Turkey's official policies; Fikret Karadað, a retired army colonel; Sevgi Erenerol, the press spokesperson for a group called the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate; Güler Kömürcü, a columnist for the Akþam daily; and Sami Hoþtan, a key figure in an investigation launched after a car accident in 1996 near the small town of Susurluk that uncovered links between a police chief, a convicted fugitive who was an ultranationalist and a deputy. Ali Yasak, a well-known gangster linked to the figures in the Susurluk incident, was also detained in the operation. Fuat Turgut, the lawyer of a key suspect in the Hrant Dink murder, was also taken into custody. Police said Turgut, who was detained in another town on Tuesday, was brought to Ýstanbul yesterday.

The chief prosecutor said earlier court orders on the Ümraniye probe have classified the case as "confidential" and issued a press ban on coverage of the investigation. He cited two different court's decisions from June 15 and June 21. He said care shown in regards to abiding by the confidentiality decision and the press ban on the investigation is "necessary for the proper conducting of the investigation."

Also on Wednesday, the police conducted searches at the office of attorney Kerinçsiz and the office of the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate as well as at several other places related to the suspects.

The operation also revealed that the Ergenekon gang was preparing for attacks and assassinations directed at political figures. Documents obtained by the police during the raid confirm that in the past two years the group seriously considered assassinating Osman Baydemir, a member of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) who is currently mayor of the mainly Kurdish southeastern province Diyarbakýr.

DTP refuses state protection

Meanwhile, the recent operation showed that many DTP members who had been offered private bodyguards by the state, including former DTP leader Ahmet Türk, Ýstanbul deputy Sebahat Tuncel and Diyarbakýr Mayor Baydemir, had refused 24-hour body guards assigned to them by the police force.

When asked about the situation, Türk said he was not worried. "I believe in fate." He noted that he was aware of assassination attempts against him, but said he was not afraid. On the recent operations, Türk said it was very important that members of the Ergenekon gang were captured, but he warned that the suspects could be "protected" by some powers, which is usually the case with criminals that have links to the military. "It is necessary for democracy and law that there is a crackdown on these organizations. I hope that all these organizations will be exposed with determination," Türk said.

Todayszaman

A baba is a Turkish Godfather/mob boss.

Spanish Police Busts Three Bulgarians over Heroin trafficking
Crime | March 28, 2009, Saturday

Spanish police busted five people over heroin trafficking, including three Bulgarians.

The confiscated 31 kilos of heroin are the largest quantity caught in the last years, the Spanish police informs.

The drugs have been smuggled to Spain by the Bulgarians and have been destined to a Turkish national said to live in Valencia and have close ties to a Turkish mafia dealing with heroin trafficking.

The heroin has been found hidden in an expensive automobile with Bulgarian license plates. The illegal drug was placed in one of the car's doors and underneath the back seat.

The other two alleged criminals were a Turkish national and a Spaniard.

http://www.milobooks.co.uk/?p=productsMore&iProduct=54

45 killed in attack on wedding in Turkey
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Masked assailants with grenades and automatic weapons attacked a wedding ceremony in southeast Turkey on Monday, killing 45 people and wounding six others. Two girls survived after the bodies of slain friends fell on top of them during the onslaught.

NTV television quoted Deputy Gov. Ferhat Ozen of Mardin province as saying the nighttime attack occurred in Bilge village near the city of Mardin. Some media outlets reported that a "blood feud" among families had led to the killings in a region where tribal ties and rivalries sometimes eclipse the power of the state.

Citing Ozen, NTV said the motive of the attack could be an old feud between rival groups of pro-government village guards who fight alongside Turkish troops against Kurdish rebels in the region. If that is the case, the government would come under renewed pressure to rein in the militiamen, some of whom have been linked to drug smuggling and other crimes.

Mehmet Besir Ayanoglu, the mayor of Mardin, told Channel 24 that he spoke to two survivors, both girls, who said at least two masked men stormed a house where the wedding took place. Other reports put the number of assailants at four.

"'They raided the house, we were in two rooms, they opened fire on everyone, they were wearing masks,'" Ayanoglu quoted the girls as saying. The girls said they lay underneath the bodies of friends until the attack was over.

Interior Minister Besir Atalay said 45 people were killed and six others were wounded. Anatolia news agency said the attack lasted 15 minutes.

Ahmet Can, a relative who took the body of his nephew to a hospital said the site of the attack was horrifying.

"You could not believe your eyes, it is unbelievable," he told Turkey's Channel 24.

Citing witnesses, HaberTurk television said four masked gunmen were involved. The attack occurred during the wedding of the daughter of Cemil Celebi, a former village official who was among the wounded.

An Islamic cleric who was presiding over the marriage died at a hospital, NTV said. The fate of the bride and groom was not immediately known. The attack killed an entire family, including the parents and their six children, aged between three and 12.

One survivor, a 19-year-old woman, said the assailants ordered people to huddle in one room and opened fire, NTV said. Another report said the attack occurred when people were praying at the house. Some guards responded to the attack but the assailants fled, NTV said.

Ambulances took at least 17 bodies to the morgue of a hospital in Mardin, said Aytac Akgul, a local official. Hundreds of relatives of the victims gathered there, wailing in distress. Several people offered to donate blood.

State television said soldiers surrounded the village and cut all roads leading to it. It said there was no power in the village and it could not be reached by telephone. Journalists were barred from traveling to Bilge.

For years, Turkey has struggled over how to trim the 70,000-strong village guard force without releasing masses of trained fighters onto the streets of the southeast, where unemployment in some areas reaches 50 percent. The system is one of the few lucrative sources of employment in the region.

The military has purged thousands of village guards suspected of favoring Kurdish rebels fighting for autonomy in the southeast. Several hundred guards have also faced criminal charges.

Many rebels and guardsmen are from the same villages or clans. Most guardsmen are poor villagers, and local residents and activists say some were forced to join against their will. Others were signed up by politically powerful clan leaders allied with the state.

The conflict between Kurdish guerrillas and government forces has killed tens of thousands of people since 1984.

From what I saw on the news it probably was an attack that was made to protect the honor of a rival family. These so called "honor revenge" incidents happen at the slightest insult and can the fueds can continue for centuries.

Eight shot dead in Turkish flat

The bodies were discovered inside the 11th-floor flat by firemen, officials said
Eight members of the same family, including three children, have been shot dead in a flat in the southern Turkish city of Adana, officials say.

Adana Governor Ilhan Atis told NTV television that a man had been arrested and had confessed to the killings.

The victims, who were shot in the head, were the suspect's parents, sister, brother, sister-in-law and three nephews, the Anatolia news agency said.

Adana's mayor said the killings appeared to be linked to a family feud.

Mayor Aytac Durak said the bodies had been discovered on Tuesday morning in the 11th-floor flat by firemen alerted by one of the victims' colleagues, who feared she could have been poisoned by gas after she failed to show up for work and did not answer her phone.

Media reports described the suspect as a 38-year-old drug addict. He was still carrying a weapon when he was captured by police, Mr Atis said.

The suspect is currently being questioned by investigators, he added.

Turkey: Police arrest 20 in coup probe

Istanbul, 4 June (AKI) - Turkish police detained 20 people, including 10 serving military officers, on Thursday in connection with an investigation into an alleged plot to topple the government, CNN's local Turkish channel said. The arrests were made in five provinces around the country and followed the discovery in April of a cache of weapons outside of Istanbul.

The latest arrests are part of a probe into an ultra-nationalist group known as Ergenekon, accused of planning bomb attacks and assassinations to provoke social unrest and unseat the government of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

They are accused of trying to undermine the ruling AK Party because of its suspected Islamist agenda and its bid to make Turkey the first Muslim member of the European Union.

About 140 people are already on trial in the case, including retired military officers, lawyers and journalists.

The 10 officers who were arrested on Thursday work at Ankara's military hospital and anti-terrorism police were searching the homes of some of them. Two civilians who work at a military facility were also detained.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8135943.stm

Turkey roadside blast kills four

Four construction workers have been killed and nine injured by a roadside bomb in the south-eastern Turkish province of Sirnak, officials say.

The provincial governor's office said the explosive device was believed to have been laid by the separatist rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The PKK launched an armed struggle in 1984, calling for an independent Kurdish state within Turkey.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in the ensuing conflict.

Correspondents says PKK fighters have in the past frequently used roadside bombs and landmines to target Turkish soldiers in the region.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8149800.stm

Fatal ammunition blast in Turkey

An explosion of ammunition in south-eastern Turkey has killed four soldiers and injured several more, reports say.

The blast happened on Monday night at a military post in the town of Yuksekova in Hakkari province, near the border with Iraq, the newspaper Hurriyet said.

Several reports suggested the explosion had been accidental.

Turkish troops stationed in the region have been fighting the separatist rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which wants an independent Kurdish state.

More than 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK launched an armed struggle against the Turkish government in 1984.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8161289.stm

Six die in Turkey village attack

Three men have opened fire in a village in eastern Turkey, killing six people and wounding seven others.

The assailants, reportedly a man and his two sons, walked through a village firing shotguns at random at their neighbours, the local governor said.

He said the motive was not clear, but that the men had previously threatened to kill the residents of the village, Karaali, in Elazig province.

All three men fled after the attack, but their family is being questioned.

Governor Muammer Musmal said investigators had been informed that the assailants had "some psychological problems".

In May, gunmen opened fire at a wedding party in south-east Turkey, killing 44 people, including the bride, the groom and six children.

The attack was the result of a long-running feud between two families, officials said. Several of those charged with the murders were members of an officially-sanctioned militia, the Village Guards.

Dutch convict running a nightclub in Turkey
A convicted people trafficker who escaped from Dutch detention while on special leave has been discovered in Turkey by daily . The paper reports that the Turkish criminal, Saban B. surname withheld is running a nightclub in the Turkish resort of Antalya.

The Netherlands public prosecutors office has said it is unable to confirm the report, but De Telegraaf claims that Dutch justice authorities knew as early as November where B. was hiding. The prosecutors say it is impossible to force B.s return to the Netherlands, because Turkey does not extradite its own subjects.


Saban B. escaped in September when he was on special leave, ostensibly to visit his girlfriend and baby. The court decision to grant the man leave caused an uproar, and the judges later admitted they had underestimated the risk that Saban B. would run away.

Gang Jailed Over Plans To Flood UK With Coke
Martin Brunt, crime correspondent
Sky News, October 26, 2011

Ringleaders of a gang who stockpiled 40 tons of cocaine have been jailed for a total of 75 years as their accomplices wait to hear their sentences.

The group planned to flood the UK with drugs from Central America via Ireland, hiding them in shipments of tinned fish and wood pallets.

The operation involved gangs in London and Liverpool. Members met to discuss the transportation in Paris and Caracas.

Last week the first 12 were given prison sentences totalling 209 years. The other 12 are being sentenced this week at Liverpool Crown Court.

Mehmet Baybasin, the leader of a Turkish gang in North London, was jailed for 30 years.

Paul Taylor, who led the Liverpool side of the conspiracy, got 22 years.

Another gang member, Martin McMullen, was imprisoned for 23 years.

The traffickers were caught in an operation led by the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), but it involved several international police forces.

Judge Aubrey QC said: "Many of you are to be sentenced for other offences that have at their core the evil and pernicious trade of drug dealing and are indicative of the desire for the good life you had and disregard for the effect on others.

"The quantities of drugs that would flood our streets, and the potential profits, are staggering.

"What was the goal? I have listened to many recordings. I am satisfied that they were not pie in the sky amounts but real estimates. £36,000 was the price of a kilo.

"There was talk of bringing two to three tons of cocaine from a stockpile of 40 and consideration was given to bringing in that stockpile piecemeal."

A catalogue of charges included the importation, supply and production of several drugs, including cocaine, heroin, amphetamine and cannabis.

Some defendants were also charged with money laundering and offences involving the manufacture and the theft of IDs.

The car crash at Susurliuk in 1996 , wasn't that a crash involving the death of the famed Abdullah Catli and a girlfriend. He is the Catli of the Papal Ambush fame and old time Gladio operations with the likes of Beqir Celenk. It was supposed to be linked to the fall of either the Ciller or Yilmaz governments (or both). Then I believe Yahyah Demirel, residents son may have been linked. Catli' demise seemed convenient. I believe some elements of the old Bozkurt movement is still kicking. Some say the Erdogon government wishes to avoid the troubles that have recently plagued former Gladio beneficiaries like Gadaffi and Assad.

Turkey, Balkans at the Drug-Trafficking Crossroad


Wednesday, 11 January 2012

Given its location straddled between Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, Turkey acts as a central transit route for drug trafficking from Iran and Afghanistan to European countries.

About 80% of Afghan-poppy derived heroin flows through Turkey and the Balkans on its way to Western Europe. The UN calls this "the Balkan Route".

"The Balkan Route remains a main corridor of heroin trafficking to European countries," Hamid Ghodse, president of the UN International Narcotics Control Board, told SES Türkiye.

Ghodse says there is an "increasing diversity in the methods and routes used in the trafficking of heroin to Europe".

Turkey is affected by three main heroin drug trafficking routes: the Southern Balkan route, the Northern Balkan route and the Eastern Mediterranean route.

In 2010, Ghodse says the quantity of heroin seized in Europe trafficked along the Northern Balkan Route through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria decreased compared to the Southern Balkan Route to Italy via Greece, Albania or Macedonia.

The vast majority of drugs crossing the Turkish border are destined for transit out of the country.

In Ankara, officials say their national, regional and international efforts against drug trafficking are effective -- even more successful than EU countries.

Behsat Ekici, chief of police at the Department of Anti-Smuggling and Organised Crime of the Turkish National Police, told SES Türkiye they have launched a total of 140 large-scale international operations within the last five years, which "have played a key role in the collapse of the international drug networks".

"Turkey's commitment in the fight against drugs continues increasingly," he says, adding that in the past few years Turkey alone has seized more than twice the amount of heroin than the 27 EU countries did.

In 2010, he says, 81,200 drug operations were carried out by national law enforcement agencies throughout the country, which ended in the arrest of 125,208 individuals for involvement in drug crimes, yielding 12,960kg of confiscated heroin.

Ekici emphasises that this is "incomparably higher" that in neighbouring countries, such as Greece and Bulgaria, which confiscated 520kg and 365kg of heroin during the same period, respectively. "The risk to smugglers that comes from Turkey's operations has led to less use of the Balkan Route by the smugglers," he added.

However some regional analysts, such as Ioannis Michaletos, an Athens-based researcher at the World Security Network Foundation, say anti-narcotics co-operation among Greece-Turkey-Bulgaria is not ideal.

Drug trafficking should be prevented globally, "because it is not only Turkey or Greece's problem, but it also encompasses other countries as well, such as Afghanistan, Iran and Western Europe".

Ethnic-based organised crime groups and diaspora networks are believed to help move the drugs along their destination throughout the route.

The so-called "Albanian organised crime" has steadily become a major distributor of heroin in the Balkans and EU.

"The presence of other strong criminal networks such as the Italian 'Ndrangheta, the Montenegro clans, Turkish drug kingpins, Russian and Caucasian criminal cells and Serbian narcotics groups, should not be overlooked," Michaletos says.

On the other hand, Kurdish populations in the tri-border area of Turkey-Iraq-Iran facilitate narcotics contraband. Iran and Turkey have a visa free regime, and border controls along the porous border are lax or easily evaded.

Back in the Balkans, widespread public sector corruption is also another major issue for drug trafficking.

"The Balkan countries have way too many strong and organised criminal groups concentrated and operating in the same region," Michaletos says.

"Illegal organised prostitution rings in the Balkans are directly related to narcotics, since police investigations in several countries have revealed over the years that the drug dealers first raise capital by illegal prostitution, before venturing into the narcotics trade, which is even more profitable," he told SES Türkiye.

Michaletos says special attention should be paid to co-operation between security and police forces in the region against money laundering. Above all, he adds, political will is needed to enforce a regional anti-narcotics policy.

Matteo Albertini, a researcher at Balkanalysis.com, is concerned that some local mafia groups, such as Italian groups, are finding new allies in Balkan states, which could move the drugs from the Middle East and Turkey to the EU.

However, the analyst believes that the entrance of Bulgaria and Romania in the Schengen Zone will enforce the control of the shores of the Black Sea, a traditional access point for drug smugglers in the Balkan Peninsula.

Hajrudin Somun, former Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) ambassador to Turkey, emphasises that drug smugglers find it easier to operate in countries that are politically unstable like BiH and Kosovo, or that score poorly in fighting organised crime, such as Bulgaria and Romania.

"There are some joint regional countries' police actions against the drug trade and trafficking, but more 'political will' is needed for linking such activities in an organised chain of co-ordination," he told SES Türkiye.

Somun says Russia has shown a special interest in co-operating with the Balkans countries to cut off drug routes, particularly going through Kosovo.

Meanwhile, according to the Turkish police research, drug traffickers have started using some other alternative routes to Europe, such as from Iran and Pakistan to Britain. Ekinci says Turkey has launched several joints operations with the British government against them.

For Hamid Ghodse, it is important that governments take action, "albeit [it is] never enough to combat drug traffickers, as indicated by the seizures."

He reminds that some countries, such as Romania and Bulgaria, have recently undertaken certain positive initiatives to strengthen their drug strategies and the fight against drug abuse and trafficking.

"Although the initiatives at the national and regional level are commendable, cross-national co-operation, collaboration, shared responsibility, and sustainability of actions are essential and paramount to the success against the drug traffickers," Ghodse says.

He highlights that more needs to be done against corruption, and says effective law enforcement to curb supply is needed. Also, he says comprehensive drug demand reduction is the cornerstone of a good drug control policy and strategy.


http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/129752/t...-crossroad.html

Big blow to organized crime in Turkey
Today's Zaman, January 19, 2012

Out of 16,338 suspects, 6,721 people have been arrested over the past seven years in 1,067 operations against organized crime in Turkey, popularly referred to as “gangs” or “the mafia.”

According to information received from the National Police Department's Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Unit, 221 operations were carried out against organized crime syndicates in 2005, as well as 228 in 2006, 167 in 2007, 118 in 2008, 119 in 2009, 112 in 2010 and 102 in 2011.

Officers seized 565 replica firearms, 3,060 live firearms, 922 rifles, 36 hand grenades, 96,696 cartridges, 42 sets of body armor, 374 fake identification documents and 22,871 checks and bills during the operations.

Criminal organizations, especially those involved in trafficking drugs, have reportedly used force and violence to achieve their goals and have benefitted from opportunities provided by the free market economy as though they are operating a legal business. Such organizations not only disrupt the democratic social order by breaking the trust relationship between the state and its citizens but also prevent individuals from living in a peaceful environment. Furthermore, they attempt to corrupt official economic and administrative processes and influence judicial officials' decisions by using force.

These crime syndicates, which are widespread in high income regions, are reportedly profiting from the tourism, entertainment, health and construction sectors. They are known to recruit young, unemployed and uneducated people who already show an inclination towards crime. Security forces fight ceaselessly against these criminal organizations in order to mitigate the harmful effects of organized crime on society.