Türkiye’s Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi announced that 22 people wanted on red notices had been arrested in a joint operation by the Turkish and Georgian police, and that 11 of them had been brought to Türkiye.
Çiftçi made the statement to journalists on Wednesday at the Turkish Embassy in Tbilisi. He discussed his visit to Georgia and current issues.
11 people will serve their sentences in Georgia
Çiftçi said the other 11 wanted people would serve their sentences in Georgia for crimes they committed there, after which they would also be handed over to Türkiye.
Combating cross-border crime on the agenda
Çiftçi said one of the key objectives of the visit was to strengthen coordination with Georgia’s Interior Ministry in combating cross-border crime, drug trafficking, irregular migration and crimes linked to public security. He added that another aim was to ensure the extradition or deportation of people who committed crimes in Türkiye and fled to Georgia.
Çiftçi said Georgia’s Interior Ministry had handed over a total of 866 people to Türkiye to date, including 438 this year. Saying he believed the number of handovers would increase after the visit, Çiftçi said people who commit crimes in Türkiye and flee abroad would not be able to escape punishment.