Image: Starlink
Turkish police detained 85 people on Tuesday, October 27, in raids across 30 provinces targeting the Daltonlar crime network, a group linked to the suspects held in Germany over Poland’s Starlink ground station fire.
Istanbul’s Chief Prosecutor’s office coordinated the operation, according to its statement published by Cumhuriyet. Prosecutors say the network recruited hitmen through social media, moved them into WhatsApp groups, and directed them from there. Thirty of those taken into custody are minors.
Investigators describe Daltonlar as a newer armed crime group that operates inside Turkey and abroad. Turkish reports name Beratcan Gökdemir as its leader, say he is wanted on an Interpol red notice, and place him outside the country, with the network run from Russia.
None of that Turkish statement links the 85 detainees to the Starlink attack itself. Poland still treats the September 23 blaze at the Exatel gateway in Wola Krobowska as sabotage, and German police later arrested two Turkish nationals at Warsaw’s request. Those men face Polish charges of sabotage on behalf of a foreign intelligence service.
That Poland site feeds internet traffic for Central Europe and Ukraine, which is why officials treated the fire as more than vandalism. Firefighters found a burned power supply cabinet, nobody was hurt, and Exatel said its services kept running. The station matters for the same network Kyiv still leans on heavily, including after Starlink speeds in Ukraine were restored late last week.
Tuesday’s sweeps hit provinces from Istanbul to Van, Şırnak, Ankara, Izmir, and Antalya, among others. Prosecutors say the case covers forming a criminal organization, aggravated robbery, intentional killing and attempted killing, firearms offenses, property damage, endangering public safety, and threats, and that work continues to catch fugitives and map the group’s ties at home and abroad.
Will the Turkey raids clarify who ordered the Poland Starlink fire, or leave that question hanging?
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