Rome, May 22 (IANS/DPA): Italian police on Wednesday detained 19 people in connection with a Turkish criminal network.

The police said 19 people of Turkish origin living in Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Turkey were arrested in the operation, which also included officers from the international policing organisation Interpol.

The detainees are accused of membership in an armed gang with terrorist aims, police said. Further charges included the possession of weapons and explosives, international drug trafficking, murder and people smuggling.

Investigators were able to track down the suspects after complex telephone and video surveillance with the co-operation of Swiss and Turkish authorities.

The investigations focused on the head of the criminal network, who is wanted in Turkey for several murders. He was first arrested in Italy in 2022 and placed under house arrest but was not extradited to Turkey.

Authorities discovered that he had continued to coordinate the group's activities from his home, organizing trafficking and being involved in the murder of a Turkish citizen in Berlin and an attack on a factory in Turkey.