Turkish security forces have dismantled 552 criminal organizations this year, arresting more than 6,700 individuals related to these gangs, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Nov. 17 during a parliamentary committee meeting discussing his ministry’s budget.
He stated that the ministry’s proposed total allocation for 2026 is 1.4 trillion Turkish Liras (more than $33 billion), representing 8.56 percent of the overall national budget.
“As a result of operations targeting criminal organizations, we have dismantled 552 groups and arrested 6,788 members,” Yerlikaya said, providing details on operations carried out by security forces under the ministry in the first ten months of the year.
In this period alone, assets worth 76 billion liras linked to these structures were seized.
Highlighting the contribution of international operations and intelligence sharing to Türkiye’s and allied countries’ security, Yerlikaya added 395 foreign nationals were apprehended in the country, including 305 sought under red notices and 90 under red diffusions.
The extradition of 279 individuals sought via red notice was secured. Additionally, red notices have been issued for 1,035 individuals identified abroad.
Yerlikaya also noted progress on combating femicide, reporting that the number of women murdered this year fell to 217, down from 290 in the same period of 2024.
He cautioned, however, that “these figures are not mere statistics; each case leaves a wound that never fully heals. Our struggle is far from over, and we have no right to pause.”
Ahead of Yerlikaya’s presentation, several lawmakers displayed photographs of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on their desks to protest his imprisonment since March, along with several other mayors over corruption allegations. Prosecutors seek more than 2,300 years in prison for him.
CHP Malatya MP Veli Ağbaba also highlighted a box containing photos of mayors detained amid investigations, arguing that “the will of the people is being usurped,” as reported by state-run Anadolu Agency.
