2023-09-29 05:00:15
VIENNA/BRUSSELS. Although Turkey fell from 12th place to 14th place in the world in the Global Organized Crime Index, its score worsened further. The report includes comments on the relationship between page groups and state-connected individuals. Türkiye is the country with the highest organized crime index in Europe. Türkiye, whose 2023 score got a little worse, ranks 14th in the world.
The Global Organized Crime Report reported that various mafia groups in Turkey provide protection against the police and judiciary by establishing close relationships with the government and other politicians. Turkey’s 2023 score is 7.03 points. This score was 6.89 in 2021. This shows that things have gotten a little worse in the last two years.
The Global Organized Crime Index 2023 report of the International Organized Crime Initiative has been published. The index compares organized crime activities within 193 UN member countries. For the research, data is collected by examining publications on organized crime. Local experts and groups check their accuracy. Then the index score appears. 1 is the lowest score and 10 is the highest score. High scores indicate a high rate of organized crime in this country.
Which areas are being looked at?
For the organized crime score, the criminal environment and criminal actors in the country are examined. These consist of a total of 20 subheadings. Topics related to the criminal environment include human trafficking, human smuggling, arms smuggling, heroin trade, cocaine trade, synthetic drug trade, financial crimes, illegal trade in non-renewable resources, drug trade. For criminal actors, mafia groups, criminal networks, state-linked actors, foreign criminal actors and private sector actors are examined.
Worst areas: Human trafficking and state-linked criminal actors
Turkey’s overall organized crime score is 7.03. In the subheadings, state-related criminal actors and human trafficking were recorded as Turkey’s worst areas with 9 points.
While human trafficking means bringing someone into a country illegally with their own consent, human trafficking is the trade carried out for exploitation, including prostitution and forced labor, without the consent of people.
Turkey’s score is 8.5 in crime groups such as arms trade, heroin trade and mafia. The fact that the human trafficking score is 8 reveals how big a problem this is in Turkey.
Myanmar is at the top of the Global Organized Crime Index with 8.15 points. Then comes Colombia and Mexico. Iran ranks 14th again with the same score as Turkey. Russia is in 19th place with 6.87 points.
Türkiye ranks first among European countries. The EU country with the highest Organized Crime Index score was Italy.
What are the findings about Türkiye in the report?
Countries other than the index are evaluated title by title in the report. Some prominent findings are as follows:
Turkey’s geographical location at the crossroads between Asia, the Middle East and Europe and its long borders make the country an important transit and destination country for human trafficking and human smuggling. Human trafficking, especially for sexual exploitation and forced labor, is becoming increasingly common in Turkey. While Turkey continues to host a large refugee population, human traffickers take advantage of the vulnerability of these communities to force women and children into trafficking for sexual exploitation. Forced marriage of young girls through unofficial religious ceremonies is increasingly common as an economic coping mechanism. In addition to criminal networks, state-based actors also participate in or at least facilitate human trafficking.
Turkey’s policies make it easier for illegal immigrants
According to the report, Türkiye; It remains a key transit country for migrant smuggling to Europe from countries such as Syria and Afghanistan.
There is also an increase in the number of irregular immigrants coming from African countries, and this increase is facilitated by Turkey’s easing of visa requirements and good airport connections to enter the country. Similar to human trafficking, human trafficking is facilitated by corrupt government officials. News reports claim that state-linked actors and legitimate businesses are directly involved in this market. According to the report, fuel smuggling is one of the most profitable sources of income for organized crime groups in Turkey, which take advantage of the demand for cheaper oil and the opportunity to generate tax revenue from the sale of smuggled oil, especially from Syria, Iraq and Iran. Due to its geographical location, Turkey is a source, transit and target country for heroin trade. Although Turkey has not historically been on the international cocaine trafficking route, the increase in the amount of cocaine seized in the last few years is thought to be a result of the change in shipping routes due to the high number of seizures in the Americas and Europe. Therefore, Turkey is becoming a more important transit country for cocaine trafficking targeting Southeastern and Eastern Europe. There are a significant number of mafia-style groups operating in Turkey and modeled on the traditional mafia system. It is reported that these groups, which continue their presence in the country, have developed close relations with the government and other politicians, thus providing protection against law enforcement forces and the judiciary. (EURONEWS)
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