Catalonia's regional police, the Mossos d'Esquadra, have arrested a 28-year-old fugitive from Turkey in Barcelona, following an international arrest warrant issued by Turkish authorities. The suspect is accused of two murders committed in Istanbul in 2016 and 2018.
The arrest took place last Wednesday after a joint intelligence effort between Turkish law enforcement and the Mossos, who located the suspect in early August moving across the Costa Brava in Girona province. According to a Mossos statement published on 3 September 2026, the investigation revealed the fugitive was being assisted by two accomplices who enabled his travel and accommodation in tourist apartments and hotels without formal identification.
Authorities discovered the group was using a high-end vehicle with a German licence plate registered to an individual with no criminal record. This led officers to a tourist apartment complex in Barcelona, where the suspect was apprehended. The two individuals aiding him were also identified but not arrested at this stage.
Extradition Proceedings Underway
Following his arrest, the suspect appeared before the on-call magistrate at Barcelona’s judicial court and is now in custody awaiting extradition proceedings to Turkey. The case underscores growing cross-border police cooperation in tracking fugitives linked to serious violent crime.
This incident follows a broader pattern of Turkish organised crime networks operating in Catalonia. In July 2025, the Mossos arrested the alleged leader of an Ottoman-linked criminal group in Barcelona after discovering a weapons cache including a Glock 19, Beretta 92, and a Kalashnikov rifle in his vehicle.
"The exchange of information with Turkish authorities was crucial in locating and detaining this individual," a Mossos spokesperson stated.
Further operations against transnational criminal networks, including those involved in migrant smuggling from Turkey to Western Europe, have been documented in recent years by Catalonia’s Department of Interior and Security, with support from Europol.
Primary sources: dsp.interior.gencat.cat, mossos.gencat.cat, Europol. Reported by europapress.es, en.ara.cat, ara.cat, theolivepress.es, politico.eu, abc.es.
