Saturday, May 10, 2025
Nordic Monitor
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Extremism
  • Military
  • Terrorism and Crime
  • Intelligence
  • Foreign Policy
  • Contact Us
    • Give us a tip!
  • About Us
  • Home
  • Extremism
  • Military
  • Terrorism and Crime
  • Intelligence
  • Foreign Policy
  • Contact Us
    • Give us a tip!
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
Nordic Monitor
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Extremism
  • Military
  • Terrorism and Crime
  • Intelligence
  • Foreign Policy
  • Contact Us
  • About Us

Turkish interior minister claims ‘the country called Colombia’ plotted against Turkey over drug trafficking

November 23, 2022
A A
Turkish interior minister claims ‘the country called Colombia’ plotted against Turkey over drug trafficking
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Levent Kenez/Stockholm

Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu accused Colombia of concocting a piece of pulp fiction against Turkey over five tons of cocaine seized in Colombia, during the ministry’s budget negotiations in parliament on November 18. When speaking about Colombia, Soylu used the Turkish word “denilen” (called or so-called), which is used to express condescension.

In June 2020 Colombia’s narcotics police announced they had seized almost five tons of cocaine. The drugs were in two containers that were to travel by sea from the port of Buenaventura to Turkey and had a street value of $265 million.

Carlos Holmes Trujillo, the late Colombian minister of defense, announced on his official Twitter account that 4.9 tons of cocaine had been seized by Colombian narcotics units.

The anti-narcotics director, General Jorge Luis Ramírez, said when the crumb rubber cargo was being inspected, a dog detected the cocaine, which was hidden in 1,733 white sacks weighing 30 kilograms each, for a total of 4,928 kilos.

Preliminary investigations indicated that the drug was intended to be transported along the Colombian Pacific coast to Central America and later to Turkey. The approximate street value of $265 million in the European market would give a tremendous boost to the finances of the illegal organizations that tried to traffic the drug, Ramírez added.

Colombian minister of defense’s tweet on the seized cocaine that was bound for Turkey.

The Columbian Defense Ministry also announced that the seized cocaine was bound for Turkey. This announcement in and of itself had important implications since Turkey had never been a transit or destination country for cocaine.

While the incident was forgotten by the public thanks to Turkey, which traditionally has an agenda filled with scandals and breaking news, Sedat Peker, a convicted mob boss and former ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, targeted Minister Soylu in June 2021, claiming that the Turkish authorities had not cooperated with their Colombian counterparts regarding the cocaine destined for the port of İzmir. Following Peker’s allegations, the opposition parties got involved and began to question why the police had failed carry out an operation against accomplices in Turkey.

Peker, who named Soylu and his associates as influential people who were involved in facilitating cocaine trafficking through Turkey, had partnered with Soylu for years in running criminal syndicates.

Minutes of the parliamentary debate on November 18:

Soylu Colombia

 

Soylu stated on Habertürk TV in June 2021 that they were in cooperation with the Colombian authorities and that Turkish police could not travel to Colombia because flights were not operating due to the pandemic. However, he left unanswered the question of why the police did not go by private jet, frequently used by state institutions in Turkey.

On January 11, 2022, approximately 20 months after the drugs were seized in Colombia, the Turkish police announced that 14 people had been detained in Turkey in line with information and documents conveyed by the Colombian police, adding that Colombian authorities, however, had not yet responded to Turkey’s requests for judicial assistance.

Peker, who shocked Turkey with his YouTube videos viewed by millions at the time, continued to claim regarding the detentions that the real criminals had not been caught.  

Soylu, who appeared before lawmakers for budget negotiations last week, made detailed statements on the Colombian cocaine case when he was again accused of covering up a crime. According to the minister, the Colombian police were contacted as soon as the cocaine was seized but had never responded. However, in the police statement of January 2022, the information and documents sent by the Colombian police were mentioned. Soylu later corrected what he said and claimed that the Colombian police did not share information with them until June 2021.

According to Soylu, only 10 sacks were taken as samples from 1,733 sacks inside the containers and that only 189 grams of cocaine were found in them. He claimed that the total amount of five tons seized, as announced by the Colombian police, was merely an assumption based on the samples. Claiming that opposition deputies had taken the side of Colombia in order to accuse Turkey, Soylu said the incident was “nothing but pulp fiction created by the country called Colombia.” 

Minister Soylu has been harshly criticized by the opposition for having photos and selfies taken with a number of drug dealers and criminals. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of the main opposition party, continuously says that Soylu posing with drug lords prevents the police from fighting drug trafficking. 

Soylu has denied the allegations, including a claim that Turkish police were lenient with Balkan drug lords. He claims he was personally involved in extraditing gang leader Jovan Vukotic to Serbia in 2018. However, it was revealed that Vukotic had returned to Turkey at the time Soylu told reporters the gang leader was in Serbia. He was assassinated in Istanbul on September 9.

It wouldn’t be right to claim that Soylu’s anger towards Colombia is Turkey’s official position. Former Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez visited Turkey in May when the two countries signed a memorandum stating that relations had reached the level of strategic partnership as well as several agreements. Erdoğan told reporters that Turkey and Colombia would also increase their cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking, terrorism and organized crime, at a joint press conference following the signing ceremony. 

ShareTweet
Previous Post

UN Human Rights Committee rejects Erdoğan regime’s main arguments on terrorism cases linked to Gülen movement

Next Post

Turkey’s paramilitary SADAT meeting discussed deploying foreign fighters to Kashmir, Palestine

Levent Kenez

Levent Kenez

[email protected]

Next Post
UN report indicates al-Qaeda and ISIS enjoy safe haven in Turkish-controlled Idlib

Turkey’s paramilitary SADAT meeting discussed deploying foreign fighters to Kashmir, Palestine

Turkish Central Bank under fire as political turmoil shakes confidence

Turkish Central Bank under fire as political turmoil shakes confidence

May 9, 2025
US sanctions Turkish company over Iran trade, sending stern warning to Erdogan gov’t

US sanctions Turkish company over Iran trade, sending stern warning to Erdogan gov’t

May 8, 2025
EP report slams Turkey’s foreign policy as confrontational and unaligned with EU norms

EP report slams Turkey’s foreign policy as confrontational and unaligned with EU norms

May 7, 2025
Turkey struggles to counter EU-Cyprus gains among ‘brother states’

Turkey struggles to counter EU-Cyprus gains among ‘brother states’

May 6, 2025
Turkey accused of financing Hezbollah’s resurgence in Lebanon, sending planes loaded with cash

Turkey accused of financing Hezbollah’s resurgence in Lebanon, sending planes loaded with cash

May 5, 2025
Erdoğan’s propaganda office claims he is Turkey’s greatest, most powerful brand

Leaked memo reveals Erdogan gov’t ordered psychological operations to deflect scandal, frame opposition

May 2, 2025
Turkey thwarts board election at Greek minority foundation despite court ruling

Turkey thwarts board election at Greek minority foundation despite court ruling

May 1, 2025
Turkey hosts Hamas official calling for Israel’s destruction, arming of Qassam Brigades

Turkey hosts Hamas official calling for Israel’s destruction, arming of Qassam Brigades

April 30, 2025
Erdogan ally admits indigenous tank production delayed by lack of engine, unsuitable production location

Erdogan ally admits indigenous tank production delayed by lack of engine, unsuitable production location

April 29, 2025
Turkey’s invasion plans for Greece thwarted by US, France, provoking angry outbursts from Erdogan

Turkey’s invasion plans for Greece thwarted by US, France, provoking angry outbursts from Erdogan

April 28, 2025

Nordic Monitor

Nordic Monitor is a news web site and tracking site that is run by the Stockholm-based Nordic Research and Monitoring Network. It covers religious, ideological and ethnic extremist movements and radical groups, with a special focus on Turkey.

Tags

al-Qaeda Andrei Karlov China coup Cyprus Diyanet Egypt espionage Germany Greece Gülen Movement Hakan Fidan Hamas Hulusi Akar Ibrahim Kalın IHH Iran IRGC Quds Force ISIL ISIS Isis al-qaida Israel Libya Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu Milli İstihbarat Teşkilatı MIT Muslim Brotherhood NATO President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Profiling Qatar Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Russia SADAT spying Spying Activities Suleyman Soylu Sweden Syria Torture Turkey Turkish Intelligence Agency Turkish intelligence agency MIT Ukraine United States

Recent News

Turkish Central Bank under fire as political turmoil shakes confidence

Turkish Central Bank under fire as political turmoil shakes confidence

May 9, 2025
US sanctions Turkish company over Iran trade, sending stern warning to Erdogan gov’t

US sanctions Turkish company over Iran trade, sending stern warning to Erdogan gov’t

May 8, 2025
EP report slams Turkey’s foreign policy as confrontational and unaligned with EU norms

EP report slams Turkey’s foreign policy as confrontational and unaligned with EU norms

May 7, 2025

Copyright © Nordic Research and Monitoring Network All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Extremism
  • Military
  • Terrorism and Crime
  • Intelligence
  • Foreign Policy
  • Contact Us
    • Give us a tip!
  • About Us

Copyright © Nordic Research and Monitoring Network All rights reserved.