Turkish officials have arrested Australian fugitive Hakan Ayik alongside 36 others involved in an alleged international organised crime ring.
Key points:
-
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya says Hakan Ayik was detained in Istanbul after a raid
-
Mr Yerlikaya said Ayik was allegedly involved in drug trafficking, manslaughter, looting and money laundering
-
Ayik has been on the most wanted list in New South Wales for more than a decade
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Thursday that Ayik was detained in Istanbul after a raid.
Türkiye’s government published a video of the arrests showing armed special agents and narcotics officers banging on doors of apartments and houses, arresting various men and seizing hand guns and stacks of foreign bank notes.
The video includes an image of a man it says is Ayik, who is seen kneeling, handcuffed and shirtless with a large tattoo on his shoulder that matches his earlier images on social media.
Mr Yerlikaya said Ayik was allegedly involved in global drug trafficking, manslaughter, looting and money laundering.
Istanbul’s chief public prosecutor filed a lawsuit against the Comanchero bikie gang alleging it laundered its assets in Türkiye.
Mr Yerlikaya said Ayik also known as Reis, and Duax Hohepa Ngakuru, have been leaders of the underworld group since at least last year.
Ayik is similarly wanted by the US while Ngakuru, who was also arrested, is wanted in New Zealand, Mr Yerlikaya added.
Dubbed the “Facebook gangster” in Australia, Ayik has been on the most wanted list in New South Wales for more than a decade for the “supply of large commercial quantities of drugs”.
He fled Australian police in 2010 while in Hong Kong, allegedly in connection to a $230 million heroin importation bust.
The Australian Federal Police says it is aware of reports of Ayik’s Turkish arrest.
“The AFP acknowledges the Turkish National Police for undertaking one of the most significant operations targeting alleged transnational serious organised criminals, some of whom are accused of illicit drug trafficking to Australia and around the world,” the organisation said in a statement.
“Türkiye is a regional leader in the global fight against transnational serious organised crime.”
In the statement, the AFP said it had officers posted in Türkiye.
“The AFP has provided support to the Turkish National Police through Operation Gain and the AFP’s Post in Ankara,” they said.
“The AFP, through its international command, continues to work with its international partners to combat transnational serious organised crime.”
AN0M distribution made Ayik ‘wanted individual’
In 2021 Ayik unknowingly helped distribute encrypted messaging app AN0M that Australian police then used to bring down more than 220 alleged criminals in a three-year operation across 18 countries.
Police say the app was used internationally by more than 11,000 members of organised crime groups to plan executions, mass drug importations, and money laundering.
The app was unwittingly distributed by Ayik after he was given a phone by undercover agents.
Ayik spread and even sold phones with the app via a black market to a wide net of criminal players.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said Ayik’s part in the operation — though unwitting — had made him “a wanted individual” back in 2021.
ABC/Reuters