International drug traffickers arrested in Türkiye

As part of coordinated operations by the Turkish authorities and Interpol, three high-ranking criminals who were internationally wanted for serious crimes were arrested in Turkey.

Alexander Gustafsson:

• Fees: Drug trafficking, money laundering, doping and forgery.
• Place of arrest: Istanbul, Turkey.
• Details: Gustafsson entered Turkey using a fake Polish passport and the name “Aleksander Kawa”. He was caught through the coordinated efforts of the Istanbul Drug Enforcement and Immigration Directorate in cooperation with the Interpol-Europol Department.

Dragan Pavlijevic:

• Fees: Drug trafficking and membership in organized crime.
• Place of arrest: Istanbul, Turkey.
• Details: Pavlijevic was wanted by Montenegro since July 23, 2024. He was arrested on July 28, 2024. He is involved in the smuggling of 1,570 kilograms of cocaine to various countries, including Montenegro, Colombia, Ecuador, Australia and the Netherlands, as well as the smuggling of another 900 kilograms from Ecuador.

Alexander Nedevski:

• Fees: Money laundering and drug trafficking.
• Place of arrest: Bodrum, Mugla.
• Details: Nedevski entered Turkey with a fake Kosovar passport bearing the name “Besnik Lajqi”. He was arrested as part of joint operations by the Istanbul and Mugla Drug Enforcement Agency, coordinated with the Interpol-Europol Department.

Official statement

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya praised the efforts of the departments involved and shared details of the arrests on social media.

No matter what kind of arrest warrant is issued, we will not allow international crime syndicates and drug traffickers to disturb the peace of our citizens. We will bring each and every one of them to justice.

Ali Yerlikaya

Yerlikaya expressed his gratitude to the intelligence service, the Interpol-Europol department, the immigration authorities and the brave police officers who carried out the operations.