Turkish organized crime is expanding its operations across Europe, especially in countries with large Turkish and Kurdish minorities, and has diversified from the heroin trade to dealing in cocaine, methamphetamine, and synthetic drugs.
Mahmut Cengiz, an associate professor at the Terrorism, Transnational Crime, and Corruption Center at George Mason University in Virginia, told The Epoch Times, “The two high-profile murders are significant as they suggest a troubling trend of escalating violence among Turkish organized crime groups across Europe.”
On May 4, Ilmettin Aytekin, a Turkish mafia boss known as “Tekin Kartal” (Tekin the Eagle), was shot dead in broad daylight outside a restaurant in Barcelona after a meeting with Abdullah Baybaşin.
Baybaşin, the head of a notorious crime family, pleaded guilty to drug importation in a British court in 2006 but later had his conviction quashed and was deported to Turkey.
Both men are believed to be affiliated with a Hackney-based gang called the Bombacilar (Bombers).
Eren had been captured in Moldova in 2022 and was due to be extradited to the UK but had been released on bail by the authorities in the capital Chisinau.
Cengiz said: “This pattern indicates that these gangs may be expanding their operations and conflicts beyond local boundaries, potentially impacting public safety in various cities.
“If these violent incidents continue, it could signal that Turkish organized crime is evolving into a broader European issue, necessitating a coordinated response from law enforcement agencies across multiple countries.”
Ryan Gingeras, a historian and author of Heroin, Organized Crime, and the Making of Modern Turkey said, “Turkey is increasingly more integral to global illicit activities, be it in terms of drugs, people smuggling, money laundering.”
He told The Epoch Times: “The drug trade is diversifying and Turkey has been a bellwether state for this kind of diversification.
“Until the 1970s, Turkey was a point of origin state for heroin. Since then it developed into a transit stop for opiates.
Heroin for Cocaine Swap
A convicted criminal from London’s Turkish community told The Epoch Times that a deal had been arranged a decade ago for Mexican and Turkish gangs to swap consignments of heroin and cocaine at the port of Rotterdam.Out of fear of retribution, he asked to be identified with the pseudonym Ümit Ceyhan.
He said: “We [Turks] control heroin, and the Mexican cartels control cocaine, but when they get to Rotterdam, it’s like Spitalfields fruit and veg market, people are taking orders for two pallets of this or that.
“Because heroin is expensive in America, and cocaine is expensive in Europe, they decided to swap them, so now, the cartels can sell heroin over there and the Turks have got access to cocaine in Europe.
“Recently, significant amounts of cocaine have been imported into Turkey from Latin America.
“Well-connected Turkish transnational groups in Europe have collaborated with Mexican cartels to utilize Turkey as an alternative route for their drug trafficking operations.”
Cengiz pointed out that the ports of Antwerp in Belgium and Rotterdam in the Netherlands had seen record levels of annual cocaine seizures—66 metric tonnes (72 tons) and 33 metric tonnes (36 tons), respectively.
Bodrum Connection
Ceyhan told The Epoch Times that much of the heroin coming into the UK was controlled from the popular Mediterranean resort of Bodrum, Turkey, with a large amount of the money going back into the city to pay for new restaurants, hotels, and nightclubs.
At the Koray Alpergin murder trial, prosecutor Crispin Aylett said the Tottenham Turks were responsible for his death, but two key individuals, Cem Orman and Ali Yildirim, had fled to Turkey, where they were believed to be hiding out.
Ceyhan said Orman, Yildirim, and Izzet Eren’s cousin Kemal Eren, who was now the boss of the Tottenham Turks, must all have paid for protection from politicians in Turkey.
“In Turkey, nothing happens without money, and if Kemal Eren is not being extradited, he must be paying a good fee every year,” Ceyhan told The Epoch Times.
He said corruption in Turkey was rampant and dated back to the 1980s.
‘Rampant Corruption’ in Turkey
Cengiz said: “Rampant corruption within the Turkish government has opened doors for cocaine-trafficking organizations.“Since the early 2010s, numerous military personnel, police, judges, prosecutors, customs officials, and government members have been implicated in drug trafficking.”
“Both the Tottenham Turks and the Hackney Bombacilar have shown signs of expanding beyond the UK. Over the years, there have been reports suggesting their involvement in international drug trafficking and organized crime networks,” Cengiz told The Epoch Times.
“They have established connections with other Turkish criminal groups in Europe, particularly in countries like Germany and the Netherlands, which have significant Turkish populations.
“Law enforcement agencies have noted their influence in wider Turkish organized crime, indicating that they have become part of a larger network that operates across borders.”
Cengiz and Ceyhan agree that Germany and the Netherlands are key to Turkish organized crime.
“Despite Germany housing the largest Turkish population outside of Turkey, Turkish organized crime often goes underreported,” Cengiz said.
‘Underreported’
Ceyhan put it more bluntly, saying, “The German government want it underreported, so there’s no shouting for mass deportations.”It is estimated that up to 3 million Germans are of Turkish or Kurdish origin, while the Netherlands is home to 430,000 people originally from Turkey. Around 250,000 live in the UK.
Cengiz said Turkish organized crime groups were major players in the heroin market, using Germany as a key transit point for trafficking heroin from Afghanistan and other countries into Europe.
“These groups have established sophisticated networks that facilitate the smuggling and distribution of heroin, often resulting in significant violence and rivalry among competing factions,” he said.
Cengiz said that when organized crime drug shipments are intercepted by authorities, it is almost inevitable that blood is spilled.
Ceyhan said he believed that is what lay behind the death of Tekin Kartal in Barcelona.
He said that “25 tons of cocaine was sent by the cartels to Spain but 20 tons was seized.”
“The cartels said ‘What about the remaining 5 tons?’ Baybasin had stolen it but he blamed Tekin, who became the scapegoat. He was called to a meeting and the triggerman was lying in wait,” Ceyhan said.
The sprawling tentacles of Turkish organized crime in Europe were underlined in May, when 17 individuals were arrested in Italy, in connection with a series of murders across Europe.
Cengiz said the Italian arrests were significant for several reasons.
“It underscores the expanding reach of Turkish organized crime, particularly the Dalton Gang,” Cengiz said.
“This operation reflects a coordinated effort by law enforcement agencies across Europe to tackle the growing influence of these gangs and their violent activities.”
While no arrests have been made in connection with the Barcelona murder, one man has been charged in connection with the London shootings and faces trial next year.
In Moldova, the investigation into the murder of Izzet Eren has led to the arrest of a politician from a banned pro-Russian party and an extradition request sent to the UK for a former solicitor, Hassan Toper.
Toper was arrested at London’s Stansted Airport on Aug. 29 by officers from the National Crime Agency’s Joint International Crime Centre national extradition unit.
His warrant was issued by the Moldovan authorities over Izzet Eren’s death.
He is due to appear again before magistrates in London next month.
