Türkiye busted an international criminal organisation Comanchero, arresting 37 suspects in Istanbul, has said the Turkish interior minister.
Comanchero, based in Australia and led by Hakan Ayik (REIS), which operates globally, has been dismantled during operations in Istanbul, Ali Yerlikaya said on Thursday.
As a result of the operations, 37 suspects were captured, Yerlikaya added.
“We will not pardon organised crime gangs, drug dealers. Regardless of their scale, we will dismantle organised crime groups and bring them to justice.”
Providing further details about the group, Yerlikaya mentioned that the so-called leader of the global organised crime organisation, Mick Hawi, was killed in 2018.
Under the leadership of Mark Douglas Buddle, the criminal organisation continued to engage in various criminal activities globally, including drug trafficking, murder, armed robbery, arson, and kidnapping.
Buddle was apprehended in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in 2022 and extradited to Australia.
Hakan Ayik and Duax Hohepa Ngakuru, two of the group members, took over the leadership and continued their criminal activities.
