Istanbul fake‑police fraud nets 3 million lira in gold jewellery

On 1 July in the Eyüpsultan district of Istanbul, a group of scammers posed as police officers and prosecutors, claiming the victims were involved in a "FETÖ" investigation. They called the victims, including Azerbaijani‑origin Turkish citizen H.H., 45, and told them their gold jewellery would be inspected. Believing the ruse, H.H. handed over gold jewellery worth about 1.5 million lira, and another victim surrendered a similar amount, bringing the total value to roughly 3 million lira.

Police surveillance captured the hand‑over on security cameras. Subsequent operations in Istanbul, Şanlıurfa and Küçükçekmece arrested five suspects. During the raids, authorities seized 142 counterfeit 100‑euro banknotes, a portion of the stolen jewellery and about 19,880 lira in cash. Four suspects were detained pending trial, while one was released under judicial control.