ISTANBUL

Türkiye busted an international criminal organization Comanchero, arresting 37 suspects in Istanbul, said the country’s interior minister on Thursday.

The international crime organization Comanchero, based in Australia and led by Hakan Ayik (REIS), which operates globally, has been dismantled during operations in Istanbul, Ali Yerlikaya said on X.

As a result of the operations, 37 suspects were captured, Yerlikaya added.

“We will not pardon organized crime gangs, drug dealers. Regardless of their scale, we will dismantle organized crime groups and bring them to justice.”

Providing further details about the group, Yerlikaya mentioned that the so-called leader of the global organized crime organization, Mick Hawi, was killed in 2018.

Under the leadership of Mark Douglas Buddle, the criminal organization continued to engage in various criminal activities globally, including drug trafficking, murder, armed robbery, arson, and kidnapping.

Buddle was apprehended in Northern Cyprus 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.