Women Rescued in Prostitution Raid: Protected Like a Castle
Antalya Police Crackdown on Prostitution Rings
Antalya Police Public Order Branch Directorate has recently carried out a 3-month operation targeting the crime of “encouraging prostitution, mediating and providing a place” in accordance with instructions from the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. The operation was launched after receiving information that women were being forced into prostitution in the city.
Simultaneous raids were conducted in Antalya, Izmir, and Adana provinces as part of Operation Oyunbozan in order to capture those involved in the illicit activities, rescue the women who were coerced into prostitution, and gather evidence related to the crimes. A total of 23 victims were rescued during the operations, while 15 suspects, including 8 men, were apprehended.
The searches also resulted in the seizure of 7 unlicensed guns, 172 cartridges, 352,725 Turkish liras, foreign currency, and various digital and sexually explicit materials. The suspects were subsequently taken to court, where 13 of them were arrested and remanded into custody.
According to reports, the suspects were overheard boasting about their illegal activities, claiming that no one could touch them and that the police were powerless against them. It was revealed that the suspects operated multiple prostitution houses which they referred to as “castles” that were heavily guarded. They also hired individuals to staff these establishments, referring to them as ‘Deputies.’
Furthermore, it was found that the victims who resisted working were threatened at gunpoint, forced to engage in prostitution with multiple clients per day, and dehumanized by being assigned the derogatory code name ‘box’. The suspects showed a blatant disregard for the well-being and dignity of the victimized women, treating them as disposable commodities in their criminal enterprise.
The successful outcome of the operation signals a significant victory in the fight against human trafficking and exploitation in Antalya. The authorities are committed to dismantling criminal networks involved in such reprehensible activities and ensuring that justice is served for the victims of these heinous crimes.
