ANKARA, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Friday that 190 suspects were detained in a sweeping crackdown on cybercrimes across 31 provinces over the past three days.
The suspects were involved in a variety of fraudulent schemes, including deceiving citizens through social media platforms by posing as sellers of rental vehicles, bungalows, or other goods, and demanding payments for non-existent product costs, file fees, or taxes, Yerlikaya said on social media platform X.
Other suspects were allegedly were running illegal betting operations or facilitating financial transfers tied to these networks, he added.
Yerlikaya noted that investigations have been launched into crimes such as aggravated fraud, establishing or being a member of criminal organizations, money laundering of criminal assets, and using information systems to commit qualified fraud.
The operations, led by the Cyber Crimes Department of the General Directorate of Security and local cybercrime units under the coordination of public prosecutors, targeted offenses including online fraud, illegal betting, and online child exploitation.
During the raids, authorities seized numerous unlicensed firearms, large volumes of digital materials, and impounded 10 vehicles, Yerlikaya noted. ■
