The men, Ercan Yilmaz and Ibrahim Kaymak, were flown to Turkey on January 19. The Turkish police described them as members of a Turkish organized crime group who have long been wanted in their country.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said they were extradited “in response to a request from Interpol under its Red Notice. It said Ankara “appreciates the cooperation demonstrated in this matter by Armenia.”
Announcing the extraditions, the Armenian government did not clarify when and how Yilmaz and Kaymak entered Armenia.
According to detailed information posted on Armenia’s official judicial portal, they arrived from neighboring Georgia and settled in Yerevan in November 2023, using false Bulgarian passports provided to them by an Armenian national, Armen Mkrtchian. The two Turks were arrested in February 2023 before being indicted and put on trial.
In September, a court in the northern Armenian town of Ijevan convicted them of forgery and illegal border crossing and sentenced them to 11 months in prison. They both pleaded guilty to the accusations. The 38-year-old Mkrtchian got off with a fine of 3 million drams ($7,500).