AI System 'Hunter' Tracked Illegal Betting Networks, 121 People Arrested

Turkish police used the AVCI system, which can interpret criminal jargon and map online networks, in an illegal betting investigation. In the investigation, 121 suspects were sent to prison pending trial.

The system, whose name means "hunter" in Turkish, helped identify suspected betting groups operating on Telegram. Software developed by the Istanbul Police Department interprets coded language, slang and emoji combinations, and links accounts operating under different identities. It can also copy messages from closed groups, preserving records of deleted messages.

On Tuesday, 3 November, police carried out operations in 39 provinces and targeted 194 suspects. 169 people were taken into custody. According to the prosecutor's office, which announced on Saturday, 7 November, 121 people were arrested, 45 were released under judicial control, and three people were released without any restrictions. MASAK also examined transactions linked to the suspected betting.

According to a report published by Sabah newspaper on Sunday, AVCI identified 306,000 messages that could potentially serve as evidence, linked to 47 groups. According to the same report, a 21-year-old software developer was alleged to be the suspected ringleader. He was reportedly using the name of British lottery winner Michael Carroll as his Telegram alias.