Ankara, Jun 2 (IANS/EFE): The authorities in Turkey carried out operations in seven provinces on Monday, arresting 40 police officers on charges of illegal wire-tapping, according to media reports.

The operations were centred in the southern province of Mersin, where anti-terrorist units searched the homes of the arrested police officers, CNN Turk television reported.

Turkish daily Hurriyet said 30 police suspects were arrested in seven provinces and would be taken to the security directorate of Mersin following a medical examination.

The raids and arrests are linked to several similar operations carried out since December 2013, when a corruption investigation implicated people closely affiliated with the then prime minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Following the initial revelation, four ministers resigned and dozens of people were arrested, including the children of ministers, senior officials and business representatives linked to the government.

The Erdogan administration blames its former ally, Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, for infiltrating state institutions in order to establish a "parallel state".

Since then, numerous task forces have targeted the police, prosecutors and judges allegedly linked to the Gulen movement, which the Turkish government considers a terrorist organisation.