Turkish crime baron Cetin Goren was the owner of a record European haul of almost 10 tonnes of cocaine seized last month by the Spanish police, Turkey’s newly-appointed justice minister Akin Gurlek said on February 13 in remarks made during his first televised interview as minister.

In January, Spain announced the seizure of 9,994 kilos of cocaine hidden in salt on a merchant ship named United S. The huge volume was registered as a European record. It smashed the record of 7.5 tonnes seized in an operation back in 1999.

After the United S police bust, the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office announced that it had ordered a re-arrest of Goren. At the time, Gurlek was serving as the Istanbul chief prosecutor. He was sworn in as justice minister on February 11.

Ahead of Gurlek’s confirmation that kingpin Goren is viewed as the owner of the record-breaking seized cocaine, there were media reports suggesting it was the case, but an official acceptance of this was not forthcoming.

“Biggest drug operation in history”

In June 2020, Turkey’s then interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, went live on TV, saying Goren was arrested together with another crime boss, namely Nejat Das, as part of “the biggest drug operation in the history of the Republic of Turkey”.

In May 2024, the 33rd Ankara (Agir Ceza) Heavy Penal Court granted a release to both Das and Goren, returning to them assets and money seized by police. They were tried for money laundering and trading in drugs.

In the fight against the international drugs business, it is always hard to file criminal complaints against suspects, especially when it comes to the involvement of major crime figures.

Turkey, new major trafficking route

Goren was born in the Netherlands. His family is from Turkey’s Gaziantep province, located on the border with Syria. Many smugglers that work on a global scale hail from there.

Goren was arrested by the Dutch police in 2014. He escaped from house arrest in 2016.

Das is from Elazig in the Eastern Anatolian region of Turkey. He has been active in the drugs business since the 1990s.

Since 2017, Turkey has become a main trafficking route for Europe-bound cocaine. Turkish police have arrested many international gangsters that have capitalised on the fact.

Currently, the country is also known for having a strong domestic market in cocaine. Lately, officials working under Gurlek have arrested dozens of Turkish celebrities for cocaine use. During his TV interview, Gurlek said investigators reached Goren via leads related to drug abusers.