The Turkish police travel in Ferraris and Bentleys. Without spending a single euro he now has 23 supercars worth 3.2 million

Turkey has introduced Ferrari police cars and other supercars worth an estimated 3.2 million euros into its fleet. These are around 23 high-end cars including a Ferrari 488 GTB, a Bentley Continental and a Porsche Taycan Turbo. Strange as it may seem, the decision resulted in no cost to Turkish taxpayers, as the cars were all seized from a criminal organization.

The ad with a “cinematic” video
The move was announced on Twitter by Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. In his post he stated that the vehicles will be at the service of the Turkish nation: «As a result of the successful operations conducted by our Istanbul Police Department against organized criminal organizations, 23 vehicles were seized». «Following the court's decision – continues the minister – these vehicles were handed over to our police. From now on, they will no longer belong to criminal organizations, they will be at the disposal of our police and at the service of our nation.” The minister's words are accompanied by a video where the police are lined up behind Land Rover and Volkswagen models with blue and white liveries, while he himself observes each model with film-like background music.

Who owned the cars?
The cars and SUVs were stolen from an international drug trafficker and handed over to the Istanbul police force following his arrest, Motor1 reports. His name is Hakan Ayık and he is the leader of the Comanchero Motorcycle Club. The Comancheros are an Australian motorcycle gang that has transformed into a billion-dollar international drug cartel.

Ayik lived in Istanbul, where he was arrested last month. He is accused of drug smuggling, money laundering and manslaughter in several countries, including the United States. According to Reuters, the FBI said Ayik unknowingly helped arrest hundreds of criminal suspects using a phone application operated by the FBI.

Istanbul like Dubai?
The Turkish government's move to add expensive supercars to its fleet puts the nation almost on par with Dubai Police in terms of value. In recent years, Dubai authorities have developed a reputation for handling supercars and hypercars. As CNN Style reports, the city is also home to the world's fastest police car, a Bugatti Veyron capable of reaching over 250 miles per hour.

According to Mayor Sultan Al Marri, the aim of the expensive fleet is to break down barriers between the public and the police. Al Marri told CNN that he wants to “show tourists how friendly the police are in Dubai.” Turkish Minister Turkey Yerlikaya's idea could be costly in the long term, given the potential maintenance cost of this type of vehicle. It might make more sense financially if the Turkish government simply sold the seized cars and padded the country's coffers.

Another 1,573 new police vehicles
In addition to the supercars, President Erdogan has decided to heavily reinforce the Turkish capital's police fleet. During the ceremony for the commissioning of 6,992 police officers within the Istanbul Police Department, together with Minister Yerlikaya they showed the 1,573 new vehicles that will be used by the new policemen.