Originally published 2021-06-06.
In May 2021, Turkish mafia figure Sedat Peker began releasing videos from the United Arab Emirates accusing senior Turkish politicians and their relatives of crimes, including drug trafficking. One claim targeted Erkam Yıldırım, son of former prime minister Binali Yıldırım, over trips to Venezuela. At about the same time, a United Nations report described traffickers using shipments of masks and other medical supplies as cover. The two stories were widely linked, but the UN material described general smuggling methods and did not name or accuse any Turkish politician.
This article sets out who Peker is, what he alleged, how the Yıldırım family responded, what the UN actually said, and what has happened since.
Who is Sedat Peker?
Sedat Peker, born in 1970 in Adapazarı, is one of Turkey's best-known organised-crime figures and an outspoken Turkish nationalist. He has been tried many times. In 2007 he was sentenced to more than 14 years for offences including running a criminal organisation, robbery and forgery, and in 2013 he received a ten-year sentence in the Ergenekon trials before being released months later.
For years he was seen as close to nationalist circles that supported the government. That changed in 2021. Living outside Turkey, from May that year he published a weekly series of long YouTube videos about what he called the Turkish "deep state". Millions of people watched them.
The allegations in the videos
Peker's claims covered murders, corruption and arms deals. Among the most serious were:
- that former interior minister Mehmet Ağar and Erkam Yıldırım were involved in an international drug-trafficking scheme;
- that Erkam Yıldırım travelled to Caracas in early 2021 to set up a new cocaine route, after Colombian authorities seized close to five tonnes of cocaine in 2020;
- that a private military company, SADAT, organised arms shipments to jihadist groups, including the Al-Nusra Front, during the Syrian civil war.
Some coverage at the time said Peker accused the younger Yıldırım of shipping five tonnes of cocaine himself. According to Arab News, the five-tonne figure referred to an earlier Colombian seizure that Peker linked to the alleged new route. None of these allegations has been proven in court, and the people named have denied them.
The Yıldırım family's response
Binali Yıldırım, Turkey's last prime minister before the post was abolished in 2018 and a deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), rejected the accusation on 23 May 2021. He said his son had gone to Venezuela to deliver COVID-19 tests and protective equipment, and told reporters: "It is an insult to link us with drugs."
Critics questioned the explanation, noting that Venezuela had relatively few recorded COVID-19 cases at the time. A Turkish journalist pointed to a December 2020 tweet by the Turkish embassy in Caracas that showed Erkam Yıldırım with an official delegation. Neither point proves any wrongdoing, and no charges have been brought against him.
What the UN report actually said
The UN report at the centre of the story was released in early 2021 and was discussed by the International Narcotics Control Board, the body that monitors the international drug treaties. It reported that the pandemic had changed how traffickers worked. Prof. Sevil Atasoy, a Turkish member of the board, explained that smugglers had turned to mail and postal services and had disguised drugs as medical goods such as masks, gloves and disinfectants. She spoke about smuggling in general and did not refer to any individual.
The UN's drug reports have also long described the "Balkan route", which runs from Afghanistan through Iran, Turkey and the Balkans to markets in western and central Europe, as the main corridor for heroin and other opiates. Turkey's position on that route has made it a major transit country, and Turkish police regularly announce large seizures.
The overlap between Peker's story and the UN's general description of PPE being used as cover made headlines. It is a coincidence of subject matter, not corroboration: the UN did not investigate or name any Turkish official.
The Venezuela trade question
Turkey and Venezuela grew closer from 2016 onwards, as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan backed Nicolás Maduro while many Western countries supported sanctions. Trade in gold, food and consumer goods expanded.
In August 2020, a week after Turkey's foreign minister visited Caracas, a presidential decree allowed certain Venezuelan food imports, including cheese, into Turkey with no customs duty. It was not a removal of all tariffs, but the decision surprised Turkish farmers, whose representatives complained that it hurt local producers. After Peker's videos, opposition parties including the CHP and Ali Babacan's DEVA asked the government why the duty had been lifted and which politicians or relatives were involved in the trade. They received no detailed answer.
Politics, press freedom and what happened next
Turkey's opposition called for parliamentary inquiries into Peker's claims, but the AKP and its nationalist ally held a majority and blocked them. Press freedom groups rank Turkey poorly; thousands of people were detained after the 2016 coup attempt, many journalists have been prosecuted, and most mainstream media are close to the government. In that climate, Peker's videos reached many viewers who felt the claims would never be examined through normal channels.
Peker stopped publishing his political videos in mid-2021, reportedly after the UAE authorities placed restrictions on him. He has remained mainly in the UAE, Turkish prosecutors continue to seek his extradition, and related legal proceedings remain open. Several of his accusations prompted denials and lawsuits, while others were never formally investigated.
For readers following stories like this, the useful habit is to keep three things separate: what the accuser claims, what the accused says in response, and what independent documents such as a UN report actually contain.
Sources: Arab News, 28 May 2021; Wikipedia: Sedat Peker.
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