Turkey’s Interior Ministry announced through an over-the-top sizzle reel that it has converted a fleet of seized luxury and performance vehicles for police use. The cars and SUVs were taken from an international drug trafficker and handed off to Istanbul’s police force as a consequence of his arrest, Motor1 reports. A Ferrari 488 GTB, a Bentley Continental and a Porsche Taycan Turbo in the same motor pool has to be a dream for politicians and a nightmare for motor pool mechanics.
The announcement video was posted on X by Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya and is the cinematic peak of the cops showing off evidence genre. While most law enforcement agencies are stuck with displaying drugs, money and weapons on a folding table, Turkey has a lineup of valuable vehicles. Models from Land Rovers and Volkswagen were now sporting white and blue liveries as Yerlikaya toured each model. Government officials have estimated that the 23 cars are worth $3.5 million.
This impressive diverse fleet was seized from Hakan Ayık, the leader of the Comanchero Motorcycle Club. The Comancheros are an Australian motorcycle gang turned billion-dollar international drug cartel. Ayik lived in Istanbul, where he was arrested last month. He faces charges related to drug smuggling, money laundering and manslaughter in multiple countries, including the United States. The FBI stated that Ayik unknowingly helped arrest hundreds of suspected criminals by using a phone app run by the FBI, according to Reuters.
It definitely makes for a flashy video, but it could be costly in the long run considering the potential maintenance costs of maintaining such a wide variety of vehicles. It might prove more financially responsible if the Turkish government simply sold off the seized cars. Now, that would have been a wild police auction.