Turkey removes another 25 police chiefs over graft inquiry

Erdoğan accused "international groups" and "dark alliances" on Saturday of encouraging the graft investigations and signalled the purge of people behind it would continue.

Twenty-four people have been formally arrested under the corruption investigation, including the sons of two government ministers and the general manager of state-owned Halkbank . Scores have also been detained.

In response, about 70 police officers, including the powerful head of Istanbul's force, have now been sacked or moved to different posts since the detention of bribery suspects began last week.

The prime minister said on Saturday the crackdown on people behind the corruption investigation would continue.

"Those who want to establish a parallel structure alongside the state, those who have infiltrated into the state institutions ... we will come into your lairs and we will lay out these organisations within the state," he said in a speech in the northern city of Ordu.

One of the first moves by İstanbul's new police chief, Selami Altınok, was to ban journalists from entering police stations across the country, local media reported on Sunday.