Czech police and Turkish authorities detain 51 in massive fraud call centre

Czech police, working with Turkish law‑enforcement agencies, carried out a joint operation in Istanbul that led to the detention of 51 individuals involved in a sophisticated fraud call centre. The centre impersonated police officers, Czech National Bank staff and banking advisers to pressure victims into transferring money to bogus accounts, resulting in reported losses exceeding 553 million Czech crowns across at least 1,173 cases.

The arrested group included six Czech nationals and one suspect who fled Ukraine, assumed a new identity and was hiding in Turkey; he oversaw recruitment, training and control of Czech‑language operators. Police seized dozens of computers, mobile phones, data storage devices, equipment for real‑time deep‑fake video creation and around 200 forged official IDs. The operation marks the first large‑scale Czech‑Turkish collaboration against such organised crime.