Argentine police extradite Turkish mafia boss Serkan Kurtulus to Turkey

Argentine authorities have extradited Serkan Kurtulus, a Turkish national accused of leading a mafia organization and committing numerous violent crimes, to Turkey. The extradition, authorized in late July, was carried out by the Federal Police this Friday.

Kurtulus, described as a mafia boss, faces serious accusations in Turkey, including 28 homicides, various kidnappings, and other offenses linked to organized crime. He had been detained in Argentina since June 2020, held in a maximum-security prison in Ezeiza after his arrest alongside his second-in-command in Puerto Madero.

The Ministry of Security stated that Kurtulus is accused of "integrating and directing armed criminal organizations and participating in aggravated homicides, robberies, threats with weapons, illegal deprivation of liberty, and other crimes related to organized crime." The operation involved Migration authorities, the Federal Penitentiary Service, and the Federal Police.

According to Federal Police reports, Kurtulus entered Argentina in 2019 with his associate Lider Camgoz, using a false passport despite an international arrest warrant. They reportedly stayed in various hotels in Puerto Madero before their eventual capture. The Ministry of Security emphasized, "Argentina is not a refuge for criminals. Law and Order."