Swedish Fugitive Busted in Turkey

There is good news on the law enforcement front in Turkey, Sweden, and Norway. International police cooperation has resulted in the arrests yesterday of 20 criminal gang members, including a major fugitive gang leader, Ismail Abdo, who was wanted in Sweden. In addition, a fugitive from Norway was also arrested.

As a retired DEA agent who worked overseas in Thailand and Italy-in addition to working with police from dozens of other countries, I know one thing: International police cooperation is essential to combating international crime, including drug trafficking.

While I was stationed in Italy in the 1980s, I was involved in a case that resulted in the arrest of several Turkish heroin traffickers in Milan. As a result, I and a few of my Italian colleagues traveled to Ankara and Istanbul on two occasions. At the time, Turkey’s head of narcotics enforcement was a dedicated counterpart who gave us great cooperation-not to mention hospitality. His name was Attila Aytek, and we became good friends. The two trips also opened up a closer cooperation between Italy and Turkey, and one of the aforementioned Italian colleagues later became Italy’s narcotics attaché to Turkey.

Of course, there have been problems of corruption in Turkey, and with the current president, Recep Erdogan, cooperation can be delicate. At any rate, this is a positive development, and we hope that Mr Abdo (who will not be extradited to Sweden) spends many years in a Turkish prison. 

The below article from Dagens Nyheter is translated by Fousesquawk.

The warning from Strömmer: You will be found             

Updated 19:56    Posted 16:14

Caption: Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer

Turkey’s Interior Minister, Ali Yerlikaya, is thanking police in Sweden for the cooperation that led to 20 people being arrested in Turkey on Friday, including the Swedish gang leader, Ismail Abdo.

“I want to thank the Swedish and Norwegian police for their support in the operation,” Yerlikaya writes in a posting on X.

The Interior Minister further writes that the police operation was aimed at three different criminal organizations, and that two of their leaders were arrested. In addition to Abdo-who is known as Jordgubben (the strawberry) – a suspected gang leader who was wanted by Norwegian police was also arrested, according to Yerlikaya, who also thanked the Norwegian police.

A large amount of narcotics were found in connection with the operation, including vehicles and businesses connected to the arrestees, seized by police, according to Yerlikaya.

The Turkish news service, Haber 7, reports that Ismail Abdo had access to assets worth about 360 million kronors, seized along with his arrest.

Sweden’s Justice Minister, Gunnar Strömmer (Moderate party), says in a written comment that the arrest is the result of “a deepened cooperation between Sweden and Turkey,” and that Swedish authorities are at Turkey’s disposal “to assist in further investigative work when necessary.”

“The message to all Swedish criminals is clear and unambiguous. You are not safe anywhere. You will be found, arrested, and prosecuted. And you will wind up without your assets,” Strömmer writes.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also writes on Instagram that criminals who are hiding abroad, “have reason to worry-because you cannot hide.”

Swedish prosecutorial authorities reported Friday that Abdo will not be turned over to Sweden since, in addition to his Swedish citizenship, he also has Turkish citizenship.

Ismail Abdo is suspected of several serious crimes in Sweden. Since the Foxtrot conflict in 2023, Abdo has been one of the most prioritized persons for the Swedish police to arrest.

As late as the spring of 2024, Abdo was arrested in connection with a traffic control in Turkey. This time, he was released on bail-although he was being internationally sought by Sweden.

This spring, he was charged for the second time in his absence by a Swedish court, this time for having organized the receipt and transport of 1.3 tons of cocaine that was seized by Customs in the spring of 2024 at Nynäshamn.

Source: http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2025/07/swedish-fugitive-busted-in-turkey.html