Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Tuesday that 1,034 wanted fugitives have been apprehended across the country within the scope of "Operation Circle."
Yerlikaya said in a statement on his social media account that simultaneous operations were carried out in 81 provinces with 7,795 teams and 24,483 personnel at 4,158 residences and 4,348 locations where fugitives with search records were identified.
Highlighting that 1,034 individuals with arrest warrants were captured, Yerlikaya specified that the largest number were those accused of theft – 342, another 239 individuals were involved in the crimes of assaults, 148 in fraud, 13 were involved in murder, 43 in sexual crimes, 54 in robbery, 90 in drug trafficking, nine in membership of an armed terrorist organization, two suspected FETÖ members, and 94 were wanted for other crimes.
Yerlikaya emphasized that they would not allow fugitive criminals to roam the streets and disturb the peace of families, stating in his announcement: “I congratulate the governors, district governors, provincial gendarmerie commanders, provincial police directors, coast guard, and police and gendarmerie personnel participating in the operations.”
In a similar operation conducted last week, Turkish authorities apprehended 2,136 wanted fugitives, the minister said at the time.
