Ringleader of Kompanio Bello drug cartel nabbed in Istanbul

Dritan Rexhepi, the ringleader of the Kompanio Bello drug cartel, who was wanted with a red notice, was nabbed in a drug raid in Istanbul, the Turkish interior minister said on Friday.

Rexhepi was being sought by authorities in Italy and Albania for charges including "intentional homicide, drug trafficking, kidnapping, deprivation of liberty, forging travel documents, and (illegally) providing weapons and ammunition," Ali Yerlikaya said on X.

Rexhepi had been placed under international surveillance by security forces and entered Türkiye through Istanbul Airport with a Colombian passport under the alias Benjamin Omar Perez Garcia.

The cartel leader was found thanks to intelligence sharing with the Italian police and then was apprehended during an operation in Istanbul's Beylikdüzü district.

The Kompanio Bello network is known to be a big player in drug smuggling from South America to Europe.

Since taking office this June, Yerlikaya has stressed stronger efforts to fight organized crime in Türkiye.