"VIP Hair Transplant" Nightmare for Londoner

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(HaberTürk Newspaper, 23 July 2017)


A.H., left, and kidnapper Basri, who might want to avail
himself of the treatment, too.

British citizen A.H. (55), who is of Iraqi extraction, chose Istanbul
for a hair transplant operation but got a terrifying experience instead.
A.H. lives in London and runs an international money transfer
company there.  He met an Iraqi living in Turkey on the internet
and learned about  "VIP hair transplants" available for "select
persons only" in Istanbul.

Convinced, A.H. came to Istanbul on Monday from London,
was met with VIP treatment by 4 people at Sabiha Gökçen Airport
and taken to a luxury hotel in the Elmadağ section of Şişli, Istanbul.
After enjoying the view of the city from his hotel room for a couple
of hours, 2 people arrived to take A.H. to the health center for the
hair transplant operation (!).

However, A.H. was taken instead to a home in the Gaziosmanpaşa
section of the city where he was beaten and tied up.  There, A.H.
was relieved of 5,000 euros, 1,600 Swiss francs, two luxury watches
- one a Rolex - and thrown out onto the street at 5 o'clock in the
morning.

A.H., thoroughly shaken up, took a taxi to Atatürk Airport in order
to return to London.  At the airport he told police about his ordeal
and was taken to a hospital for treatment. Police reviewed video
images from the hotel in Şişli and determined the license plate
number of the car that took A.H. away.  The car was located in the
Zeytinburnu section and police apprehended Basri İleri when he
came to get the car.  Later, accomplice Ömer Akın was seized in a
hiding place and Hamdullah Yelboğa is also being sought.



         For A.H., what might have been...