Turkey busts massive illegal betting network, 105 arrested

Coordinated by the Kocaeli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the cybercrime unit of the Turkish National Police, a nationwide operation targeted an illegal betting and virtual gambling network operating in 27 provinces. Simultaneous raids on 158 addresses resulted in the arrest of 105 suspects, including the owners of 15 shell companies and 14 individuals who managed them. Investigators uncovered a transaction volume of roughly 6.567 billion Turkish lira and froze related bank accounts. The raids also yielded two unlicensed firearms, 108 cartridges, 124,000 lira in cash and large quantities of digital devices for further analysis. The operation is described as the largest illegal betting crackdown in the Republic’s history.