site.bta61 Crime Suspects Extradited to Turkiye, Including One from Bulgaria

Sixty-one people suspected of various offences have been handed over to the Turkish authorities from foreign countries. According to Haber7, sixteen of the extradited individuals were wanted on an Interpol red notice, while the rest were sought under national alerts. The operations to detain and transfer the persons wanted by Turkiye were carried out with the support of specialized institutions in seven other countries, including Bulgaria.

"The extradition process was carried out in cooperation with Interpol and seven countries – Georgia (50 extradited), Germany (4), Greece (3), and one each from Poland, Portugal, the United Arab Emirates and Bulgaria," the Turkish Interior Ministry said in a statement. "The Interpol-Europol Department of the Turkish General Directorate of Security, together with staff from the Ministry of Justice and the departments for Organized Crime, Intelligence and Narcotics Offences, as well as the Cybersecurity, Public Order and Counterterrorism departments, meticulously tracked individuals who had fled abroad and were subject to arrest warrants. Through cooperation with law enforcement bodies in the respective countries, the detained individuals were successfully extradited to Turkiye." 

Among those extradited is former national team footballer Batuhan Karadeniz (35), the Milliyet daily reported. A red notice had been issued for Karadeniz on suspicion of involvement in illegal betting. The former Turkish international was detained by police in the United Arab Emirates.

Late last year the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office launched a large-scale investigation into alleged illegal betting and match-fixing. As part of the ongoing investigation, dozens of suspects were detained, and the Turkish Football Federation removed more than 150 football referees.