Denizli, Turkey fraud operation arrests eight in 4‑million‑lira gold scam

Police in Denizli uncovered a fraud scheme in which scammers pretended to be judges and prosecutors and recruited couriers through online "daily full‑time job" ads. The victims were instructed to collect gold jewelry worth about 4 million Turkish lira from a resident identified as H. K., who handed the items to a courier before realizing the deception.

The Jandarma Crime Investigation Team (JASAT) conducted a four‑month technical and physical surveillance operation, culminating in simultaneous raids on July 29 in five provinces – Denizli, Şanlıurfa, Istanbul, Kocaeli and Mersin. Eight suspects were detained; six were charged with qualified fraud and placed in pre‑trial detention, while two were released under judicial control. Authorities warned the public not to trust individuals claiming to be public officials and to report such incidents to emergency services (112).