By Gangsters Inc. Editors

A Turkish criminal organization involved in multiple homicides across Europe was busted today by police in Italy and Turkey with help from Europol. The investigation was initiated in Como, Italy, in October 2023 after three members of the gang were arrested in possession of firearms. The group’s leader, 39-year-old Baris Boyun, was among those arrested.

The organization allegedly was involved in multiple illegal activities, including murders, the transport of migrants, the trafficking of drugs and the smuggling of counterfeit cigarettes. The investigation also revealed how financial flows coming from abroad financed the illegal activities of this group in Europe.

Boyun, a Turkish national of Kurdish origin and one of Ankara’s most wanted men, was arrested at an apartment in the city of Viterbo, north of Rome, where “he was under house arrest after being detained in Rimini in August 2022 under an international warrant issued by the Turkish authorities regarding allegations including murder, criminal association and arms felonies,” ANSA reported.

He had denied the charges and successfully fought extradition to Turkey in Italian courts, claiming he was being persecuted for his Kurdish origins. Turkey has been involved in a long battle against the Kurds, oppressing its people. The Kurds have been waging a terror campaign as a result, led by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, also known as the PKK.

Prosecutors allege Boyun had continued to lead his crew from a residence in Crotone where he had been under house arrest.