The Dubai Police Department, with its massive fleet of exotic patrol cars, now has some serious competition. No, we are not talking about Abu Dhabi’s fleet of exotic police cars, which is also pretty impressive. It is Turkey, which has recently bolstered its police force by adding almost two dozen uber-luxurious vehicles. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya posted a dramatic video on X (formerly Twitter) showcasing the new fleet of police vehicles, which includes uber-expensive sports cars, supercars, and SUVs. They even look very similar to Dubai PD’s exotic patrol cars with the police livery. However, there’s a very big difference between the two. While Dubai police expanded its fleet over the years by buying the vehicles, the ones that the Turkish Police Department added were all seized in one single anti-drug operation.
According to multiple news reports, the Turkish PD impounded a total of 23 high-end vehicles, all belonging to a single drug trafficker named Hakan Ayik. It is believed that Ayik was the leader of the Comanchero Motorcycle gang based in Australia and had an estimated net worth of close to $1 billion. The drug trafficker and 36 of his associates were arrested in Istanbul last month, and all his property was seized, including the two dozen cars. The vehicles impounded by the Turkish police include a Ferrari 458, a Bentley Continental GT, and even a Porsche Taycan. In addition to that, it also has several luxury SUVs like the Range Rover Sport and the Mercedes-Benz GLS. The total worth of the 23 luxury cars is estimated to be around $3.5 million. It’s interesting that the Turkish authorities decided to turn them into police cruisers.
Göreve geldiğimiz ilk günden itibaren bizden hep şu sözü duydunuz: Türkiye’nin Huzuru…
İstanbul Emniyet Müdürlüğümüzün organize suç örgütlerine karşı gerçekleştirdiği başarılı operasyonlar sonucu 23 araç ele geçirilmişti.
Mahkeme kararınca da bu araçlar emniyetimize verildi.… pic.twitter.com/mzBtgp5EgU— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) December 26, 2023
Usually, governments either auction such seized vehicles or even crush them to send a message to offenders. Obviously, the Turkish police department will use the vehicles for its PR activities. But maintaining such expensive vehicles is going to be very expensive and will eat up a lot of public money, which might raise a lot of questions.
