Crime organization leader Serkan Kurtuluş, fleeing Argentina, landed in Istanbul at 22:50

A Turkish Airlines aircraft carrying organized crime leader Serkan Kurtuluş landed at Istanbul Airport on August 14, 2026 at 22:50. Kurtuluş was escorted off the plane by security officers and taken to Istanbul Airport Police Branch Directorate, where he underwent a medical examination.

Kurtuluş's extradition took approximately 6 years and covered a distance of 13,000 kilometers. Wanted on red notice in Turkey for premeditated murder, intentional killing, forming an organization to commit crimes, threats, and armed robbery, Kurtuluş was apprehended in Argentina and transferred to Turkey via Brazil.

The Interior Ministry announced in a social media statement that the extradition was carried out through joint coordination between the General Directorate of Police's Interpol-Europol Department Head, the KOM Directorate, the Intelligence Directorate, and the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Justice Ministry.

Turkey has no direct extradition agreement with Argentina; such cases are conducted through bilateral diplomatic channels and the Interpol mechanism. The primary reason the extradition process, which began in 2020, took such a long time was the requirement for negotiations within that legal framework.