"Cigar Doctor" Kept Society Types Lit Up

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 28 October 2018)



In Istanbul, police learned that a gang that was illegally
importing cigarettes and cigars into Turkey was selling
the contraband cigars at a 5-star hotel in Etiler and at a
tobacco store in a shopping center in the Akatlar section
of Beşiktaş.  Police raided two stores and a sports club
in the shopping center, which is frequented by celebrities
from the arts and society world.


                  Dr. Cigar

In the raid, police seized 20,152 contraband cigars with
a value of 217,650 TL.  The operator of the store in the
hotel, Mehmet Hasbutçu, and the operator of the shopping
center store, Nihat Görücü, were taken into custody,
along with five other individuals. 

Hasbutçu, whose nickname is the "Cigar Doctor", owns
6,363 of the illegal cigars and he also had contraband
cognac (French brandy) that is favored by society types,
in his warehouse.


Much the same way society types eat candy bars
with a knife and fork, they go to great lengths to
procure cigars and cognac.