In France: On March 17, 1994, the OCRTIS [Office central de repression
du trafic illicite des stupefiants = Office for Halting Illegal Narcotics
Trafficking] released a document entitled "Judiciary Police Fourth Division
Questioning of Three Turkish Nationals belonging to a Drug Trafficking
Network: Seizure of Three Kilos of Heroin." The day before, at Saint-Ouen
(93) and Paris, in the eleventh and eighteenth arrondissements, three individuals
were stopped for questioning: Musa CA..., born in 1956 at Akcaday, Turkey,
an unemployed political refugee; Mehmet SE..., born in 1963, in Bingol,
Turkey, unemployed; and Orhan TA..., born 1963, another unemployed political
refugee. The latter was carrying three one-kilo packets of heroin, delivered
by the other two, who had recently arrived from Metz. "It should be noted,"
emphasizes the document, "that TA... is known by General Intelligence as
a fundraiser for the PKK and that he is suspected of having engaged in
drug trafficking to replenish the coffers of that movement." This is the
proverbial "tip of the iceberg." Why not put together, and publish, a systematic
listing of political refugees in France picked up for drug possession,
say over the course of one year, that would include, where known, their
party affiliation?
| From 1990 to 1995, 82 Turkish nationals were questioned in France for possession of both firearms and significant amounts of heroin. In 21 of these cases, the amount involved was more than one kilo. In 35 cases, the heroin was from the Golden Crescent; in 8 cases, it was from Lebanon; and in the other 39 cases, the source was either someplace else (Golden Triangle, :etc.), or unknown. |
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The Textbook Case of Hussein AY…-
In January 1991, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Nice Police Force picked up Turkish national Hussein AY… for questioning. AY , born in January 1936, was carrying 2.5 kilos of heroin. His arrest led to that of Adnan IN… , a PKK fundraiser in Marseille, and Bahi CE… and Ercan CA… , the two of whom had already been arrested in August 1989 in Milan in possession of 10 kilos of heroin. As for Hussein AY… , he had long been in the employ of Turkish "Godfather" Behcet Canturk, and had already been held for questioning for drug trafficking in Germany (1970 and 1973), but had simply been sent back to Turkey. He then moved to Austria under a false identity, where he was sentenced to five years of prison for drug trafficking in 1977. Deported to Turkey in 1982, he was eventually sought for murder, which he viewed as a "political" act, and fled. In 1988, AY… moved to France under the false name of Yahya OB… That year, his son Timudin was threatened by drug traffickers tied to the "Gray Wolves" (Turkish nationalist extremists), whereupon the PKK, the group's sworn enemy, saved his son and heir's life. Hussein AY… then placed his talents at the disposal of the PKK. According to him, between 1989 and 1991, he brought approximately 300 kilos of heroin into Western Europe from Turkey, initially with his accomplice, Mustafa KA… , who was himself held for questioning in Brescia in 1990 carrying 10 kilos of heroin and sentenced to 15 years of prison. Report by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Nice Police Force, June 10, 1994 |
Germany: Here, drug traffickers from Turkey take advantage of the particularly lenient juvenile crime laws and use children between the ages of 11 and 13 as "street dealers." These children, many of whom are from Bingol, sell five-gram packets of amply cut heroin for DM250, of which they keep DM50 for themselves. This enables them to send more than DM2,000 a month to their families back in Turkey. As early as 1988, Dr. Harald Korner, Frankfurt Public Prosecutor, stated: “we have noted that some individuals who claim to be waging a war of liberation against Turkey have been involved in heroin trafficking, not for personal gain, but for the benefit of their cause." In November 1990, Cengiz B…, a known PKK militant, was arrested at the Dutch-German border (Arnhem) in possession of 48 kilos of heroin. In July 1991, Vahiddin KA… was arrested in Cologne carrying 2.5 kilos of heroin. This PKK guerrilla (since 1987) was known for having taken part, from May to September 1990, in "Turkish Kurdistan," in a whole series of bombing attacks and in the murder of two police officers at their station. In October 1993, in Recklinghausen, the police dismantled a drug trafficking network that was in possession of 1.6 kilos of heroin. Among its members were: Ibrahim CI… , a known PKK militant; Mehmet Cilik KI… , a PKK militant detained in December 1991, in Bingol, Turkey; Ismail HA… , wounded in May 1985 during an armed PKK attack not far from the city of Silopi. From October 25 to December 4, 1993, the Stuttgart Police conducted a major “anti-heroin dealing” operation, detaining 76 Turkish nationals, 13 of whom were known to the police for being active in the PKK right within Germany. Among them were Fevzi TU… and Cengiz SA… , who had participated in armed attacks in "Turkish Kurdistan," and Abdulhalik KA … , Sedat KI…, Ekrem BE…, and Sami KA… also known PKK militants who belonged to the movement's logistical networks in Turkey. In May 1994, in Cologne, the police picked up approximately 20 Kurds, "members of a network of three families that covered all of Germany and handed over part of its take to the PKK." This network had sold 40 kilos of heroin since the summer of 1993.
Belgium and the Netherlands: In May 1988, in the Netherlands, Alil HA…, considered to be a PKK militant, was arrested while in possession of 72 kilos of heroin. In July 1989, Yilmaz S. and Ahmet Y., known PKK militants, were picked up in Belgium with 60 kilos of cocaine. In December 1991, Kemal and Cemal GU… were picked up in Arnhem and were in possession of 48 kilos of heroin. Cemal GU… was known as a PKK "military" cadre and wanted in Turkey for the murder of lieutenant and two gendarmes. In March 1993, Suleiman IY… was arrested in the Netherlands with two kilos of heroin. He admitted to the Dutch Police (who are not known for their fierceness) that he was a PKK militant. Osman AY…, from Icel, in Turkey, had sent him the drugs. Internal PKK documents and "revolutionary tax" receipts were found at his home. In December 1994, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 180 police officers arrested Nejat KU and another 28 Kurds, all Turkish nationals. They were in possession of several handguns, two assault rifles, five grenades, and a sizable supply of propaganda material and internal PKK documents. They were subsequently charged with drug trafficking and kidnapping. The network extended to Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and Turkey.
Spain: On November 25, 1989, on the 8:30 evening news of Spain's top TV channel, the newscaster quoted the police and the judges as saying: "Recently, Spain has experienced a major wave of drug trafficking by a “Kurdish network.” All the members of this network, whose leaders were based in Istanbul, are Kurds and provide money and weapons to the illegal guerrilla movement fighting for an independent Kurdistan. In Spain, 50 members of this network have been arrested thus far. The organization operated in a highly professional manner. Heroin is moved in semitrailers from Istanbul to Madrid, via Ljubljana, Milan, and Amsterdam, cities in which the "Kurdish network" is also established. That network is said to have imported 300 kilos of heroin into France over the last six months. In January 1990, 12 PKK militants were taken into custody in Spain for having belonged to this "Kurdish network."
Italy: In May 1991, in Como, 23 kilos of heroin were discovered aboard a truck driven by Ali GU…, a member of the network of Naif AY…, closely tied to the PKK.
Yugoslavia: In March 1993, Suphi MU… and Metin BU… were arrested
with four kilos of heroin. They confessed that PKK guerrillas in Turkey
had threatened to kill them unless they agreed to take the drugs to other
PKK militants in Cologne, Germany.