More than 100 criminal gangs dismantled in Istanbul this year

ISTANBUL

Istanbul Governor Davut Gül said on August 9 that authorities have dismantled 119 criminal gangs in the city this year, following 747 operations that resulted in the arrests of more than 3,500 people.

Nearly 1,700 of them were arrested and about 700 were released on parole.

The operations led to the seizure of assets worth 33.41 billion Turkish liras ($996,000). These figures do not include operations carried out this month.

In July alone, 15 criminal gangs were dismantled in 23 operations, with assets worth 10 million liras seized. The first seven months of the year saw a decline in crimes against individuals and property, with a decrease of 10 percent and 24 percent respectively.

Strikingly, 98 percent of crimes against individuals and 79 percent of property crimes were solved. Incidents of purse snatching fell by 55 percent, pickpocketing by 45 percent, car theft by 43 percent and home burglaries by 36 percent.

In addition, authorities seized more than 11,500 weapons during this period, including approximately 1,500 in July alone.

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