Turkish authorities have detained 25 suspects in a sweeping operation linked to the long-running investigation into the 2009 helicopter crash that caused the death of the former Grand Unity Party (BBP) leader Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said Monday.
The arrests were made as part of an investigation transferred last month from the Kahramanmaraş Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Gürlek said in a statement shared on social media.
According to the minister, prosecutors identified 29 suspects believed to have committed the offenses of establishing, leading or being a member of an armed terrorist organization and premeditated murder.
Police carried out simultaneous raids at 30 addresses across 10 provinces, including Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Balıkesir, Adana, Antalya, Çanakkale, Bursa, Isparta and Afyonkarahisar.
Gürlek said 25 suspects were taken into custody. Two suspects were already in prison, while two others were determined to be abroad. Efforts to locate and detain the remaining fugitive suspects are continuing, he added.
