When you hear of performance cars serving as police fleets, you notoriously remember Dubai. However, there is an addition to it now as the Turkish Police Department has recently expanded its fleet with 23 high-performance cars, including Ferraris and Bentleys, acquired through a single drug trafficking appropriation. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya shared a video on X (formerly Twitter), showcasing the seized sports cars, supercars, and SUVs transformed into police cruisers.
These cars were acquired through a single drug trafficking appropriation.
A total of 23 luxury vehicles, with an estimated market value of 100 million Turkish Liras (approximately 28.34 crore), were confiscated by the Istanbul Police Department. The seized cars include models like the Ferrari 488 GTB, Bentley Continental GT, Land Rover Range Rover, Porsche Taycan Turbo, Volkswagen Golf R, and the latest model range from Mercedes, BMW, and Audi.
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Minister Yerlikaya expressed the success of operations against organised crime, stating, “23 vehicles were seized, and following the court decision, these vehicles were handed over to our police.” Reportedly, the impounded cars were linked to Hakan Ayik, a drug trafficker believed to be the leader of the Comanchero Motorcycle gang in Australia who was arrested a month ago.
The seized cars have an estimated value of 28.34 crore.
What sets this case apart is the decision to repurpose the seized vehicles into police cars, a departure from the usual practice of auctioning or destroying such assets.