Türkiye
Police in Ankara seize a hotel, four nightclubs and 12 properties from the “Çobanlar Group”, accused of laundering drug money
- What happened
- Ankara prosecutors say a group known as the “Çobanlar Group” laundered drug money through companies, a hotel and nightclubs; 10 suspects have been detained.
- Why it matters
- The companies linked to the suspects handled 10.3 billion lira in transactions, and assets worth 1.55 billion lira have been seized, A Haber reports.
- What’s next
- Police are still looking for one suspect who escaped the raids, A Haber reports.
How this story developed
- 08:40First report
- 09:212nd source
- 09:21Reported
- 16:483rd source
- 16:48Confirmed
- 08:40First reportSözcü
- 09:212nd sourceCumhuriyet
- 09:21ReportedWas: Single source
- 16:483rd sourceA Haber
- 16:48LatestConfirmedWas: Reported
Full story
A laundering inquiry
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an operation against a group known to the public as the “Çobanlar Group” (the Shepherds), accused of laundering money made from drug trafficking, Sözcü, Cumhuriyet and A Haber reported on Saturday. The inquiry is run by the narcotics branch of the Ankara police.
It is built on a report from MASAK, the finance ministry’s financial crimes investigation board, together with field research and financial analysis. According to the outlets, investigators found that the suspects passed money believed to come from drug sales through financial transactions, company activities and property purchases.
What was seized
In the suspects’ bank accounts and assets investigators identified 18 vehicles, 12 properties, a hotel, four entertainment venues and an office, and seized them, Sözcü and Cumhuriyet reported. The companies tied to the suspects, with their hotel and entertainment venues, handled transactions worth 10,308,821,634 lira in total. Some headlines described this sum as a seized fortune, but the reports give it as transaction volume.
A Haber, which reported later in the day, put the value of the seized assets at 1.55 billion lira. It said searches at 12 addresses, six homes and six workplaces belonging to seven suspects, turned up 12.7 million lira in cash, 316 promissory notes worth 79.3 million lira, 2.13 kilograms of gold, 317 quarter gold coins, $38,320, €3,790 and 10 luxury watches.
Ten detained
The first reports said four of the seven suspects had been detained and the other three were being sought. By the afternoon the number had risen, A Haber reported: six of the seven were caught in the first stage of the operation, four more people were then detained as the inquiry continued, and the total reached 10.
Police are still working to catch one suspect who is on the run, A Haber said. None of the outlets named the suspects or reported a statement from them or their lawyers.