The assassination of Baris Önder last weekend is possibly connected to a conflict tied to crime boss Sedat Sahin. His gang allegedly has connections to the circles of the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reports Telegraaf reporter Mick van Wely from a dossier he acquired and previously published on his own website.

Onder's father, Atilla, is wrapped up in a Turkish investigation regarding several assassinations and assassination attempts across Turkey, Panama and the Netherlands.

The organization has large influence in criminal circles in the Netherlands, Van Wely alleges. One of the group leaders, Zekeriya K., was one of ten suspects investigated for ordering a drug trade-related assassination attempt, he writes.

The dossier file illustrates the influence of the group through an overheard conversation of K. In the dialog, the second party in the conversation claims close ties to a top Erdogan advisor.

The man referred to in the document also says that Erdogan is charmed by the Sahin crime boss, but the police did not investigate the connection to the Turkish president’s circles.