May 26, 2021
Long a major route of heroin smuggling from Afghanistan to Europe, Turkey in recent years has seen an increase in cocaine trafficking as well, leading some to suggest that the country has become a cocaine distribution hub from Latin America to Europe and the Middle East. Yet the issue has only recently come into public focus following bombshell allegations by a Turkish mobster on the run.
In a series of viral videos from Dubai since early May, Sedat Peker, a convicted criminal gang leader, has flung accusations of malfeasance and corruption at members and cronies of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), including claims that high-profile figures are involved in cocaine smuggling from Colombia.