Criminal investigations and arrests in Turkey

Law enforcement operations in Turkey have targeted various criminal activities, including fraud and human smuggling.

In Çanakkale, police conducted security operations between late September and early October 2026. These actions resulted in the arrest of two individuals in Gelibolu for a 10 million TL fraud scheme involving police impersonation. Additionally, authorities arrested five organizers of human smuggling operations after intercepting 47 irregular migrants and seizing equipment such as life jackets and air pumps.

In a separate incident in Elazığ, authorities arrested three suspects for a phone-based scam. The suspects allegedly impersonated a police chief to convince a 72-year-old victim to transfer approximately 1.537 million TL to secure their bank accounts. Following an investigation, simultaneous operations in Aydın, Konya, and Afyonkarahisar led to the suspects' apprehension.

On October 15, 2026, Turkish authorities apprehended German citizen Michell Hasan A. in Turkey after he attempted to undergo aesthetic surgery using a forged identity. Hasan A. is the subject of an Interpol red notice regarding a fraud scheme in Germany, where he allegedly defrauded elderly victims of approximately $4 million by threatening them with robbery.

Following this arrest, police conducted operations in Maltepe, uncovering a group of eight suspects preparing to establish a call center to target victims in Germany. During searches of the suspects' residences, law enforcement seized six pistols, one long-barreled automatic weapon, narcotics, and numerous mobile phones. The suspects have been referred to the judiciary.