In the investigation that followed the September 1986 wave of attacks in Paris, the police uncovered a garbage can in the Forest of Fontainebleau containing both explosives and "brown sugar." The newspaper headlines claimed that "terrorists were financing themselves by selling drugs." This was not quite true. The reporters had forgotten that no act is really individual in a clan-based society, particularly not political militantism or religious activism. People do not join Hizballah or the PKK like they join the Rally for the Republic or the Socialist Party, by knocking at the door of the local headquarters on their own and filling out a membership form. Especially not in a rural or mountainous area. The collective group, the tribe or clan, is the one that allies itself with the entity that it hopes will ensure its salvation, either in this world or the next, and a symbiotic existence then develops. Thus, in the case of Hizballah, the clan's "ambassador" in Paris helps out his three oldest sons back in Jibshit, Hirmal, or Baalbak. So, Uncle Ali is a mechanic? They send him the car parts he needs. Cousin Imad is running a heroin lab? They store his powder, or sell it. Does Abu Husayn, of the local "Islamic Amal" militia, declare that a fatwah has ordered a strike against the French "little Satan”? They house his "pyrotechnical experts," and their bombs.

A similar symbiotic relationship links the PKK to the crime clans of southeastern Anatolia, who in turn resemble the Mafia "families" of Sicily: a tradition of rebellion against the State, secrecy, and impermeability obtained by an intermingling of biological and criminal ties. There are about a dozen of these clans: the Aksoy, Aydinli, Baybasin, Canturk, Guven, Kitay, Kocakaya, Koylan, Ozdemir, Polat, Toprak, Ugur, and Yildrim, among others. In Europe, some of them sell, for approximately FF800,000 a kilo, wholesale, the heroin that they buy in the "Golden Crescent" for FF15,000 a kilo. Others control the entire process, from producing the powder from Asian morphine base all way to running the "street dealing" in Western Europe, always in sizable quantities. Several of these clans, with various ranges of activities, are portrayed below, with a description of their trafficking and their known ties to the PKK.

The Baybasin Clan: An alert from INTERPOL-Germany (October 26, 1993) indicated that the Baybasin family was conducting an extensive heroin trafficking operation between Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Spain, and "laundering" sizable sums of money in Europe. The head of the clan is Hussein Baybasin, born in Lice in 1956, picked up in Istanbul in 1976 while in possession of 11 kilos of heroin, then in Great Britain in 1984 with 6 kilos of the same drug, for which he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The clan also includes Mehmet Emin Baybasin, born in Lice in 1942, Hussein's uncle, who, in February 1994, was sought in Turkey in connection with a "laboratory" in the village of Yagmurlu, not far from Lice, where the police found 67 kilos of heroin. Nedim Baybasin, born in Lice in 1965, Hussein's cousin and Mehmet Emin's son, was at the scene. Nedim was arrested in Germany on June 13, 1984, (along with Mehmet Serif Baybasin, born in Lice in 1944) with 32 kilos of heroin and subsequently sentenced to 13 years in prison. Mehmet Emin and Mehmet Serif have close ties with Kurdish separatists, and the latter is known to German police as a PKK arms trafficker. All told, there are a dozen or so Baybasin brothers, cousins, uncles, etc., with records in several European countries, and whose similar exploits could fill a book.

The Kitay Clan: Hakki Kitay was arrested on September 1, 1993, at a Turkish border checkpoint in Kapikule, en route from Bulgaria, based on a tip from the Dutch, German, and British Police, following the seizure of 14.8 kilos of heroin in the Turkish city of Icel on October 29, 1992. Sentenced in Turkey on October 19, 1993, to 10 years in prison for drug trafficking, Hakki and his clan are tied to 22 cases involving the importation of a total of 1.2 tons of heroin into Germany between 1990 and 1993. While under surveillance during a "business trip" to Germany, on October 23, 1992, Hakki contacted Emin Uysal and Selim Curukkaya, aka "Tilki Selim" (Selim the fox), top managers of the PKK's financial operations in Germany. Hakki is the brother of Vahdettin Kitay, aka “Veli”, head of a regional PKK guerrilla operation, who was killed in October 1989, in a clash with the Turkish Police in which one police officer was killed. Hakki is the father of Nizamettin Kitay, aka "Vedat," who trained at the PKK's "military academy" in Lebanon, and is a cadre in the PKK's guerrilla unit in Bingol Province, led by Mahmut Curukkaya, aka "Doctor Suleiman," who is the brother of the above-mentioned "Tilki Selim." Between May and November 1993, German police dismantled a network, between Hamburg and Bremen, of 22 "political refugees" or "asylum seekers" in possession of 16 kilos of heroin. Among them were Ihsan and Senol Kitay. The latter, Hakki's son, was murdered in Germany shortly thereafter. Also arrested in the case were Sehabettin AT former head of the PKK for the city of Elazig, and two other known Party militants. In this instance too, other Kitay had drug trafficking records in several European countries.

The Sakik Clan: On June 16, 1994, "Servet Ipek," born in 1964, was arrested for murder in Germany. The investigation showed that "Ipek's" real name was Seyyar Sakik, born in Mush, in 1962, wanted in Turkey, and on the lam in Germany. It also uncovered that the murder was the end result of the trafficking of 190 kilos of heroin between Turkey and Germany. Seyyar Sakik's brothers are Sirri Sakik, a DEP deputy, and Semdin Sakik, until recently head of PKK guerrilla operations in Tunceli Province, and now regarded as the PKK's number two "political" leader. In Germany, Idriss Sakik, a cousin of the first two, is in charge of wholesale heroin sales. In Turkey, the Sakik Clan is known for its pro-PKK militantism.

The Konuklu-Ay Clan: On March 8, 1995, following several months of surveillance, the Police uncovered two heroin refining labs near the village of Saray, in the Turkish Province of Tekirdag, and arrested 14 members, or allies, of the Konuklu and Ay clans. The labs were found to contain 92 kilos of heroin, 336 kilos of Afghan morphine base, and 32 kilos of acetic anhydride, in addition to two Kalashnikovs, various handguns, and internal PKK documents. One of the farms belonged to the Konuklu, specifically Mrs. Gulistan Konuklu, herself a daughter of Nasrullah Ay, a PKK cadre. In the Konuklu clan, headed by Mehmet Ali Konuklu, Nihat, Ramazan, and Sahin Konuklu manage the heroin production operations, and Yusuf Konuklu handles overseas sales and marketing. The second lab was owned by Nusrettin Ay. His sons, Hikmet and Kurbettin, produce the drug, while two other sons, Heybet and Ali, sell it overseas. Documents found on the scene showed that part of the profits go to the PKK. Some members of these clans are also active in the PKK logistical unit: care for the wounded, supplying radios, runners, propaganda distribution, etc.

The Senar Clan: In December 1986, Turgut Senar, who ran a film production company in Istanbul, was arrested with 1.6 kilos of heroin in Van Province and indicted. In September 1989, Istanbul Police found nearly 40 kilos of heroin in a car that belonged to him. He was arrested in September 1991, in Van, for participation in PKK armed operations. PKK "revolutionary tax" receipts totaling 30 million Turkish lira were found on him. Fahit Senar, Turgut's brother, was arrested on October 1992, in Izmir, while hiding 81 kilos of heroin aboard the cargo ship Florida, bound for Italy. He is still in custody.

The Kaya Clan: In September 1992, in Duisburg, Germany, 20.3 kilos of heroin were discovered aboard a TIR semitrailer. The two drivers were Nezir Kaya, born in 1966, in Nusaybin, Turkey, and Hasib Kaya, born in 1969, in the same town. The vehicle belonged to the trucking company of Osman Kaya, Nezir's brother and Hasib's cousin, which was located in Icel. Tipped off by their German colleagues, the Turkish Police raided the company's premises in May 1993. They found 18 Kalashnikovs and 4,000 cartridges in a secret compartment in a tanker truck, bound for a PKK guerrilla unit.

The Demir Clan: In January 1993, police in Offenbach, Germany, dismantled a network headed by Abdulkudusi Demir. He confessed to having paid DM250,000 a year (approximately FF800,000) to a PKK fundraiser, in order to be able to sell drugs. In October 1994, the German weekly Focus exposed the
Demir clan as one of the major heroin traffickers in Germany. According to that publication, the Demirs controlled a hotel chain in Istanbul, as well as garages and electronic appliance stores.