Crime syndicate boss Serkan Kurtuluş, who fled to Argentina, lands in Istanbul at 22:50

A Turkish Airlines aircraft carrying organized crime syndicate boss 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 the Istanbul Airport Security Branch Directorate, where he underwent a medical screening.

Kurtuluş's extradition spanned approximately six years and covered a distance of 13,000 kilometres. Wanted in Turkey on a red notice for premeditated murder, intentional homicide, establishing a criminal organization, threats, and armed robbery, he was captured in Argentina before being transferred to Turkey via Brazil.

The Interior Ministry announced on its social media account that the extradition was carried out through the joint coordination of the General Directorate of Security's Interpol-Europol Bureau, the Organized Crime Unit (KOM), and the Intelligence Department, alongside the Foreign Ministry and the Justice Ministry.

Turkey does not have a direct extradition treaty with Argentina; such cases are handled through bilateral diplomatic channels and the Interpol mechanism. The primary reason the extradition process — which began in 2020 — took so long was that this legal framework required extensive negotiation.