A British man accused of being the “ringleader” of an armed drugs gang has been arrested in Turkey – after being made the subject of an Interpol red notice.
Shaun Monaghan was detained by armed police who swooped on a hotel room on Tuesday.
He was held in Istanbul‘s Fatih district, a day after Interpol issued a notice for his arrest.
Monaghan is accused of heading up a gang that is allegedly responsible for the distribution of “large amounts” of cocaine and heroin in England.
According to Turkey‘s interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, who announced Monaghan’s arrest on social media on Wednesday, the gang is also involved in the illegal arms trade.
“It has been determined that the organisation has a large number of long-barrelled and pistol-type weapons and ammunition,” Mr Yerlikaya said in a post on X.
According to Mr Yerlikaya, who also included in his post a video of armed police arresting Monaghan in a hotel room in Turkey, the suspect arrived in the country in October.
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Last month, Mr Yerlikaya said Turkey had captured Hakan Ayik, a top fugitive wanted in Australia for drug smuggling, and 36 others allegedly involved in an international organised crime ring that has also been pursued by US and New Zealand authorities.
The minister also said at the weekend that police had captured Shamil Amirov, a senior figure in an organised crime group called “Thieves in Law”, which operates in Russia.
