Turkish police have detained 348 suspects in raids across 58 provinces targeting gangs accused of recruiting gunmen and members through social media, the Interior Ministry announced on Thursday.
The detainees allegedly used messaging groups to seek gunmen or offer their services for shootings, according to the ministry’s statement, published by the state-run Anadolu news agency.
They are also accused of posting threats, praising criminals and spreading gang propaganda, along with using social media to publicize gang activities, promote rivalries and attract recruits.
Police seized 42 handguns, 35 rifles, 26 blank-firing pistols, a stick of dynamite, an anti-aircraft round and 2,865 rounds of ammunition during searches.
Prosecutors and the anti-smuggling and organized crime department of the Security Directorate General, Turkey’s national police force, coordinated the operations.
The National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and police intelligence and cybercrime units also took part.
The ministry did not identify the gangs involved or announce whether any of the detainees had been jailed pending trial.
Turkish officials describe these networks as “new-generation criminal organizations,” referring to gangs that recruit young people online and hire individuals for attacks through structures with fewer permanent ties between members.
The raids follow an operation on September 14 in which prosecutors issued detention warrants for 1,008 suspects across 48 provinces over similar allegations involving online recruitment and gang propaganda.
Groups linked to the Daltonlar, Casperlar and Baygaralar gangs advertised contract killings, weapons sales and migrant smuggling through messaging platforms, an investigation published in September by the T24 news website found.
One advertisement sought a recruit under 18 and cited sentence reductions available to children as the reason for seeking a minor.
Prosecutors in İstanbul also indicted 51 minors in September over 22 alleged incidents linked to the Casperlar gang in which three people were killed, with 30 defendants jailed pending trial.
Turkey’s mafia-style groups have evolved from family-based hierarchies into networks of cells involved in drug and arms trafficking, migrant smuggling, illegal gambling and extortion, according to the 2025 Global Organized Crime Index.
Ties between crime figures and people in state and political institutions have hindered enforcement, the index found.
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