Turkish conflicts: PKK, Grey Wolves

Kendal Nezan relayed that, a decade ago, Turkish (opium processing and) heroin trafficking was already worth tens of billions of dollars; he also noted that the dominant operation was 'run by mafia groups closely controlled by the MIT [Millî İstihbarat Teşkilâtı (National Intelligence Organization)]'. Most of the US' enemies', the Taliban and al-Qaeda's, opium is processed into heroin and trafficked by the US' allies, Turkey and Kosovo, while their money is laundered in both northern and southern Cyprus.

Tim Boekhout van Solinge determined that, '[b]esides the more "traditional" extended Mafia families, different political movement[s] like the Grey Wolves, Dev Sol [Devrimci Sol (Revolutionary Left)], and the PKK.... [and] both the civil and the military secret services are involved in the heroin trade', the Turkish deep state and the PKK sometimes even using the same opium processing plants in Turkey.

The PKK, however, do produce their own heroin in Azerbaijan and elsewhere, as well as smuggling heroin for Lebanese Hezbollah. The PKK has relations and collaborates with Lebanese Hizbullah, has a presence in Cyprus (which will be discussed later) and other transit and market countries, like Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Hüseyin Baybaşin, mentioned earlier, worked for the PKK as well as the Turkish Deep State.

Martin A. Lee documented that 'the Grey Wolves [Bozkurtlar], a neo-fascist terrorist group' worked with and for the Turkish mafia and the Turkish intelligence services, for whom they 'carried NATO military equipment to the Middle East and returned with loads of heroin'; the Global Drugs Monitor also noted that 'the extreme right wing political-criminal organization of the Gray Wolves... financed by heroin trafficking, is protected by high-level figures within the Turkish government who use the Gray Wolves to eliminate their political enemies, not only in Turkey but also abroad'.

The Grey Wolves' connections are a little more convoluted than the PKK's, but its splinter group Nizamı Alem [Universal Order] also has strong ties to Lebanese Hezbollah and, besides that, Turkish Hizbullah founder Hüseyin Velioğlu is sympathetic to Grey Wolf ideology and his organisation has collaborated with Lebanese Hizbullah and with the Grey Wolves' allies, the Turkish military and gendarmerie.

Indeed, it was only heroin trafficking, allowed or controlled by MİT and run by the Grey Wolves, or possibly in partnership with Lebanese Hizballah, that raised the money that made Turkish Hizbullah activity possible. The Grey Wolves are also active in transit-and-market countries like Switzerland, the Netherlands, Britain and Belgium, and increasingly powerful in Belgian politics.

London-based heroin smuggler and dealer Hamit Gökenç 'had a "massively significant role" in the Turkish mafia.... [and] links to the militant Grey Wolves in Turkey'. One of the members of his gang was Belgian Joseph Put and another - former Malatyaspor President Nurettin Güven - had three passports, including one southern Cypriot identity and one green passport, a type held by 'public officials' enabling them to 'travel abroad freely'.(1)

Turkish intelligence employed Güven in its pursuit of Marxist-Leninist Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (Devrimci Halk Kurtuluş Partisi/Cephesi (DHKP/C)) leader Dursun Karataş through Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands and Güven entered Britain as a British Customs and Excise informer.

1. Aramada hepsi Nurettin Güven tarafından kullanılan üç pasaport bulundu: Limasol doğumlu Ali Salih, Ankara doğumlu Ali Erdal ve Baykal doğumlu Selahattin Aydınalp adına...
   
   Üstelik iki Türk pasaportundan birisinin rengi yeşildi.
   
   [On searching three passports being used by Nurettin Güven were found: in the name of Limassol-born Ali Salih, Ankara-born Ali Erdal and Baykal-born Selahattin Aydınalp...
   
   Moreover, of the two Turkish passports, the first was green (i.e. for public servants).]