Minister of Internal Affairs Ali Yerlikaya Spoke About New Generation Organized Crime and the War on Drugs

Stating that it is very important not to have martyrs in the country for two years, Çiftçi said: "From now on, our mothers will not cry, wives will not be widowed, children will not be orphaned. Terror-free Turkey, terrorism-free region is currently progressing extremely well in terms of both internal and external conjuncture, incomparable to previous periods. Hopefully, it will continue in this way and the process will be successful. We will have saved our state and our nation from this terror scourge. It will not be limited to this. Along with the terrorism-free region, we will also be in Syria and Iraq." "There are good developments. Hopefully, this process will be successful in Iran and a terror-free Türkiye and a terror-free zone will be fully realized." Çiftçi pointed out that a path has been reached with a Terror-Free Türkiye and continued as follows:

"There are organized crime gangs that want to fill the gap caused by this. We call them 'new generation organized crime organizations', 'third generation criminal gangs', 'city bandits'. They shoot up our citizens' homes, workplaces and vehicles, and demand extortion. They harass our citizens. We are fighting them determinedly. As the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we declared 2026 as the year of the fight against new generation criminal organizations, the year of the fight against drugs. This year, 600 new generation crimes occurred in 9 months." We have carried out 1675 operations against the organization. Some of them have international connections, some are regional, some are local. Our goal is to narrow down the areas of activity of most of them and to destroy them completely by the end of the year."0 Stating that some members of the criminal organization have fled abroad, Çiftçi said, "We continue to follow them abroad, no matter where they go. "No matter how they flee to their country, we are determined to follow them, bring them from where they are and bring them to justice." he said.

Çiftçi continued his words as follows: "I am visiting the countries where they escaped and hid. I am meeting with the Ministers of Internal Affairs. We want to extradite them. We have extradited 714 people from the new generation organized crime organizations this year. There are still others we are looking for. Hopefully, I will go to other countries in the coming days and we will continue to follow them. Because they disturb our citizens wherever they go. In Germany, they also shoot up workplaces and vehicles, demand extortion, try to invade our citizens' workplaces and homes. There is an opportunity for these in other countries as well." And we will not give in."

THE FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS CONTINUES WITH DETERMINATION

Referring to the anti-drug efforts, Çiftçi said that they carried out 40 thousand operations this year against those who sell drugs, market them, barons and those who deal with these businesses. Minister Çiftçi stated that they ensured the arrest of 33 thousand 750 people in these operations and said: "Our fight against this continues determinedly. Currently, the number of people in all open and closed prisons in Türkiye is 432 thousand. 113 thousand of them are in prison due to drug crimes. This has spread everywhere. As the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we are waging a serious struggle with the General Directorate of Security, Gendarmerie General Command, governorships and district governorships to suppress both supply and demand."

Stating that they have increased security measures in and around schools, Çiftçi stated that public order and narcotic practices around schools have also been increased, and that internet cafes, game halls and places where children can go near schools will be subject to stricter inspection. Calling on families, Çiftçi said, "Parents, please follow their children and take care of their children. Where does the child go when he leaves home in the morning? Does he go to school? Does he come directly to school after leaving school? Where does he hang out? Who does he make friends with? Families need to follow these, too." he said. Çiftçi underlined that families, society and other institutions of the state also have duties and said: "New generation criminal organizations generally use children between the ages of 15 and 18. They give money to children whose mothers and fathers are separated and who are deprived of the love of their parents. They promise them a false sense of belonging. They make them members of their own organizations and use them in their actions. Sometimes they do not give the money they promise. Isn't it a shame for our children? These are our children, our sons. We need to take care of all of them together."

"THE HABITATS OF STRAY ANIMALS ARE NOT THE STREETS"

Stating that they are following the issue of stray animals sensitively, Çiftçi said: "As the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we are fulfilling the duty given to us by the law and as of today, we have reached 99.7 percent, at the point of collecting stray animals all over Türkiye. We are doing our duty. We have all experienced it, we know it. Our elders and grandfathers were unable to go to morning prayers and night prayers. Women were unable to go out. They are attacking, we all saw this on television. We watched the footage. Children were no longer able to go to the park. So, it was necessary to take another precaution and find a formula. The streets are no longer the habitats of stray animals. Because of this, stray animals cause traffic accidents and die from hunger and disease. Isn't the current system better? "They sterilize them. If anyone wants them, they adopt them. I invite the society and animal lovers to come and adopt one or two of the animals in the shelters and take care of them at home." Stating that all stray animals will be collected by October 15 in Istanbul and October 30 in Diyarbakır, Çiftçi said, "Currently, we have two provinces left, Istanbul and Diyarbakır. As the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we will have completely solved an important problem of the society at the end of this month. We are determined on this issue. We are working as much as we can to do our part." made his assessment. Minister Çiftçi then visited MHP Yalova Provincial Headquarters.