18.06.2026 16:40
In Istanbul, 156 suspects have been apprehended and hundreds of weapons have been seized in operations targeting motorcycle crime gangs and arms traffickers over the past month. The weapons on display included long-barreled firearms used in an attack on Otokoç and handguns seized from a gang linked to the murder of Can Polat.
Istanbul Provincial Police Department Organized Crime Division teams conducted a series of operations against new generation street gangs and illegal weapon manufacturing, trade, and smuggling.
In line with the operations targeting motorcycle crime gangs involved in workplace shootings, robbery, wounding, threats, and premeditated murder, between May 15 and June 15, raids were carried out at numerous addresses in Istanbul districts including Ataşehir, Bağcılar, Bakırköy, Beşiktaş, Beykoz, Beylikdüzü, Büyükçekmece, Esenyurt, Eyüpsultan, Fatih, Kadıköy, Kartal, Küçükçekmece, Maltepe, Pendik, Sarıyer, Sultangazi, Tuzla, and Üsküdar, as well as in Tekirdağ, İzmir, Siirt, Samsun, Tokat, Şanlıurfa, Kocaeli, and Ankara.
DETAILS EMERGE ON THE CAN POLAT MURDER AND THE ARMED ATTACK ON OTOKOÇ
In the operations, a pistol seized from the home of a gang member linked to the incident where Polat couple's bodyguard and Engin Polat's cousin Can Polat was killed in İzmir, along with long-barreled weapons understood to have been used in the armed attack on Otokoç in Maltepe, were also confiscated. In the operation where hundreds of weapons and bullets were seized, 156 suspects identified as having been involved in 48 incidents were apprehended, and 7 motorcycles and 7 helmets deemed to have been used by these perpetrators in their crimes were also confiscated. After their interrogations were completed, the 156 suspects were referred to judicial authorities on different dates; it was learned that 5 were released pending trial without detention, while 28 were released under judicial control conditions. The remaining 123 suspects were arrested by the court they were brought before.
ARSENAL DISPLAYED
Meanwhile, the weapons and ammunition seized in the operation, along with the motorcycles used by the suspects in their crimes, were exhibited at the Istanbul Police Department's Vatan Campus in Fatih. Among the weapons displayed at the police headquarters, the AK-47 type Kalashnikovs were identified as those used in the Otokoç attack, while the 'Utaş' brand weapons were noted to be the pistols seized from the gang linked to the murder of Can Polat in İzmir. Notably, the ski mask worn by the suspects during the act was displayed by placing it over a football.