The Turkish police in Istanbul have repurposed 23 luxury cars seized from alleged drug trafficker Hakan Ayik, converting them into traffic police vehicles to bolster law enforcement efforts. The exotic vehicles, including a Bentley, a Porsche, and a Volvo, were handed over to the Istanbul police following a court order. The repurposed police cars, painted in white and blue with ‘traffic police’ markings, are estimated to have a combined market value exceeding $5 million.
Hakan Ayik, identified as one of the world’s alleged largest drug traffickers and a former member of the Comanchero bikie crime organization, was arrested in Istanbul along with 36 associates last month. Ali Yerlikaya, Turkey’s interior minister, declared on social media, “We will not forgive organised criminal organisations… we will dismantle organised criminal organisations of any size and bring them to justice.”
The Comanchero Motorcycle Club, an outlaw motorcycle gang based in Australia and Southeast Asia, had Ayik as its leader following the death of Mick Hawki in 2018. Ayik had been operating his drug criminal enterprise openly in Turkey after fleeing Australia in 2010 to evade arrest by New South Wales (NSW) police. The charges against him in Australia were linked to a massive heroin shipment uncovered at Port Botany.
Hakan Ayik’s estimated fortune is around $1 billion, and reports suggest that he paid over $1 million per month as protection money to corrupt government and military officials in Turkey. In 2021, Ayik was among 17 individuals globally charged in a FBI indictment in the United States for violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The repurposing of the seized luxury cars highlights the Turkish authorities’ commitment to using confiscated resources to enhance law enforcement capabilities against organized crime.
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