Turkish organized crime reaches Catalonia
The Mossos d'Esquadra arrest the leader of an Ottoman mafia in Barcelona who was carrying an arsenal of weapons in his car.
BarcelonaA Glock 19, a semi-automatic pistol usually carried by police forces; a Beretta 92, a very similar handgun; and a Kalashnikov, the legendary Soviet assault rifle. In addition to ammunition, balaclavas and silencers. It was Sunday, July 27, and two officers of the Guardia Urbana saw a car driving erratically. They tried to stop it, and the car tried to flee. The chase descended Vallcarca Avenue in Barcelona and ended on República Argentina Street, when the officers managed to stop the car. In the trunk, they found the arsenal. It was driven by a man of Turkish origin who was eventually arrested, but after a few days he was back on the streets, accused of a weapons offense.
The case was handled by the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police), who analyzed the weapons and the name of the man of Turkish origin. Suddenly, a red flag went off: the Turkish authorities were looking for him, not for just any crime, but for leading a criminal gang. According to ARA, he had an outstanding extradition order and faced a life sentence in Turkey. The Criminal Investigation Division (DIC) of the Catalan police began searching for him and eventually found him on August 25, walking along Passeig de Sant Joan, in the Gràcia district of Barcelona. He was accompanied by three people. The police approached, arrested him, and when they searched one of his companions, they discovered he was also armed. Now, the process of extraditing him is underway.
This double incident, which took place this summer in the Catalan capital, is one of the latest examples of the presence of Turkish organized crime in Catalonia. In May of last year, while the April Fair was being held at the forum, someone followed a man from behind and fired five shots. The victim's name was Tekin Kartal, a well-known Turkish criminal linked to the Baybasin clan. The Mossos d'Esquadra investigation is still ongoing, and no suspects have been arrested. According to sources consulted by ARA, the main hypothesis is a vendetta between Turkish criminal groups, which took place in Barcelona, and they are collaborating with Turkish authorities to find the killer. In fact, one hypothesis is that Tarkal was in Barcelona to plan the execution of one of his rivals.
"Things are busy," admit sources from the Mossos d'Esquadra regarding the presence of Turkish organized crime in Catalonia. Just as Albanian gangs have done in recent years, the presence of Turkish criminals in the country is increasingly noticeable. In fact, this effect is already being reflected in Catalan prisons: in 2023, there was an average of three people of Turkish origin incarcerated; in 2024, this average dropped to one; and in 2025, it stood at more than seven. Currently, eight people of that nationality are incarcerated. The vast majority are there for drug trafficking offenses, and all are men.
Consular response
When asked by this newspaper, the Turkish consulate in Barcelona has no record of the presence of Turkish mafias in Catalonia. "We have not received any information recently to confirm this," specifies an official source. However, the presence of some Turkish clans in Spanish territory is clear, especially on the Costa del Sol.
Mustafa Enes Esen, researcher and political analyst at the InstituDE, states that "there is a clear presence of Turkish organized crime in Spain, focused especially on Ümit Yalçin, known as Ümit." the gypsy"He became deeply involved in Spanish criminal groups. Enes Esen cites the work of Cevheri Güven, a journalist specializing in Turkish organized crime, who responded to ARA's questions: "There is compelling evidence showing that Turkish criminal organizations are active in Spain, especially on the Mediterranean coast and in key port cities like Barcelona," he states.
According to Güven's account, Yalçin—one of the major Ottoman mafia bosses—was kidnapped, tortured, and later handed over to the Spanish police while preparing a shipment of 600 kg of cocaine. "He is very financially powerful and until now had tried to stay away from direct confrontations," Güven says of Yalçin. The crime was carried out by the Dalton clan, one of the most powerful in Spain. Güven explains that for these groups, Spain "is a strategic gateway for the cocaine trade, as it offers direct access to South American cartels, especially Colombian networks." The Turkish journalist cites the murder of Tekin Kartal as an example, asserting that it stems from a drug conflict and that his clan, the Baybasin, is based in Spain.
Right now, in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, there is an open war between the Daltons and another Turkish clan, the Caspers. On August 3, 2025, Caner Koçer, linked to the Dalton clan, was shot dead in Torrevieja, Alicante, in broad daylight. According to Güven, the victim was one of the "key figures" of the Daltons. Social media was filled with videos from the Dalton clan mourning Koçer's death, and some accounts linked to the Caspers claimed responsibility for the crime. On July 20, 2025, a few days before the execution, a shooting broke out in a supermarket parking lot in Estepona, Málaga, and a pedestrian was injured by a stray bullet. This is being investigated as a clash between the same clans. Five days earlier, on July 15 of that year, the National Police and Turkish authorities dismantled a criminal network that smuggled cocaine into and exported marijuana to Turkey. Fifteen people were arrested, and the gang had branches in Barcelona and Tarragona.
From heroin to cocaine
In recent years, Turkey has become an attractive country for international mafias, but also for local groups. Due to its geographical location, straddling Asia and Europe, it has always played a prominent role in the transit of heroin produced in Afghanistan that travels to the Old Continent, through the so-called Balkan corridor.
But, in addition, in recent years, according to the Brussels Institute (Institute for Diplomacy and Economy), Turkey "has become a hub emerging from cocaine trafficking." Especially since Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power. "Since 2013, and particularly since the 2016 coup attempt, the Turkish government has weakened the rule of law by replacing key law enforcement officials with loyalists. New citizenship policies implemented in 2018 have attracted wealthy criminals, facilitated money laundering, and turned Turkey into a safe haven for crime bosses," says a report by the InstituDe, with which Spanish police forces work.
Over the past decade, Turkish assets, which can be obtained with the purchase of assets worth more than $250,000, have led to the arrival of many criminals. Central Americans, as explained by Turkish researcher Imdat Öner. brokers Balkan or other European countries rather than through direct, structured partnerships," explains Öner.
