"Grab & (No) Release": Young Girl Abducted in Istanbul and Taken to Antalya by Rejected Suitor

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 8 July 2026)

                       The situation is, well, blurry...

R.H.U., who was charged in Antalya two years ago with sexual 

harassment of 16-year-old girl E.Ö. , whom he met over the internet,

came to Istanbul in search of  the young girl, despite the fact that 

R.H.U. faces a jail term of 20 years. 

Two months before the hearing of his harassment case, R.H.U. and

his relatives contacted E. Ö.'s family, but they refused the attempted

contact.  

On 2 July, E.Ö. told her mother, "I'm going to the market", but instead

E.Ö. was abducted by R.H.U. and his friends, forced into a car and

taken to Antalya. 

E.Ö.'s mother Nagihan Solak, fearing for her daughter's life, related that

a few days after E.Ö. turned 18, R.H.U.' s family wanted to settle the 

matter - evidently meaning marriage between the two young people. 

In response, Nagihan hanım rejected the peace offer and asserted that

both she and E.Ö. would not retract their complaints against R.H.U. 

At that time, E.Ö. signalled agreement with her mother, telling her 

"Mom, he deserves the worst!  Let him be jailed.  I want to live in

peace henceforth!"

Nevertheless (!), R.H.U. was not incarcerated and succeeded in 

kidnapping E.Ö.

"Gut & Release": Iranian Drug Courier Died When Capsule Exploded in His Stomach, İn Şanlıurfa

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 7 July 2026)

Investigators' assessment: "It's kind of a mess, but it'll have to 

do till the real mess gets here."

Omid Lotfipour, an Iranian national found dead wrapped in a blanket in 

the Eyyübiye district, has been identified as a drug courier. It was 

determined that Lotfipour, who had fled a police checkpoint and spent 

the night in an empty field, died as a result of one of the drug capsules

he was carrying in his stomach exploding. (!)

The incident came to light yesterday morning in an empty field near the

 ring road in the Akabe neighborhood of Eyyübiye district. People passing

through the area on their way to their summer houses noticed a person 

lying motionless wrapped in a blanket and reported the situation to the 

112 Emergency Call Center. 

Police and medical teams were dispatched to the scene. Upon examination, 

it was determined that the person had died. Further investigation revealed 

the body belonged to Omid Lotfipour, an Iranian national. 

Ouch.

Lotfipour's body was taken to the morgue of the Şanlıurfa Forensic 

Medicine Institute. Investigations by the Homicide Bureau revealed that 

Lotfipour entered Türkiye with a passport on Thursday and then traveled 

to Şanlıurfa by road. Police determined that Lotfipour, upon seeing a 

checkpoint in the Akabe neighborhood, moved away from the area and 

waited in an empty field, where he spent the night wrapped in a blanket.

Lotfipour, who became ill after one of the drug capsules he was carrying 

in his stomach exploded, died of cardiac arrest according to preliminary 

autopsy findings. An examination at the Forensic Medicine Institute 

revealed that numerous drug capsules were found in Lotfipour's body. 

It was stated that his relatives have not yet applied to claim Lotfipour's 

body, which is being held at the Şanlıurfa Forensic Medicine Institute 

morgue. The investigation into the incident continues.

"Save & Release": Heroic Worker Rescued Mom and Kids Whose Car Plunged Into Canal, in Aydın

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(YeniAsır website, 6 July 2026)

     Heroes don't always look like Brad Pitt.

A desperate struggle for survival unfolded in Aydın after a car plunged 

into a canal. Seeing the vehicle sinking, heroic municipal employee 

Ahmet Katılmış immediately jumped in and managed to rescue a mother 

and her two children who were facing imminent death. Katılmış, who 

saved three lives, said, "They must have had some good karma. I just 

did my duty as a human being."

The Efeler district of Aydın witnessed a heroic act. The incident 

occurred  under the highway bridge in the Yeniköy neighborhood. 

A life-or-death struggle ensued in a car that plunged into an irrigation 

canal. The car, driven by 38-year-old mother B. E., went out of control 

and swerved. As the car veered off the road and into the irrigation canal, 

a desperate struggle for survival unfolded for the mother and her two 

children inside. 

Now a memento photo instead of a watery grave, 

thanks to Ahmet bey.

In those critical moments, a miracle occurred for the three people in 

the car.  Ahmet Katılmış, a staff member of the Efeler Municipality 

Parks and Gardens Directorate, who was cleaning up garbage in the 

area when he saw the accident, noticed that the vehicle in the canal 

was slowly sinking into the water.

Katılmış jumped into the canal without hesitation to rescue the family 

who could not get out because the doors were locked. Showing great 

heroism, Katılmış managed to save the mother B.E. and her children 

Y.E. (10) and N.E. (8) from death in the submerged vehicle.

"Fleece & Release": Industrial Strength Scam Operation Targeting Czech Republic Raided, in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 4 July 2026)

call center demise click here for raid details.

        Looks like a rogue hive in need of a Beekeeper...

A foreign fraud ring targeting European citizens, primarily in the Czech 

Republic, in Turkey has been dismantled. 51 suspects were taken into 

custody for setting up a fake call center in Maslak and impersonating 

public officials to defraud victims.

The Istanbul Police Department's Cyber ​​Crimes Unit, continuing its 

efforts to prevent fraud crimes under the coordination of the Istanbul 

Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, placed a business in Maslak under 

technical and physical surveillance following information provided 

by Czech Republic authorities and judicial cooperation.

The investigation revealed that the so-called call center, targeting 

European countries, used advanced artificial intelligence-powered 

software to call people living in Europe and impersonate police officers, 

prosecutors, soldiers, and bank officials.

The suspects, who gained the trust of their victims over the phone, 

were found to have defrauded numerous Europeans, primarily Czech 

citizens, using telephone and software programs, and attempted to 

launder the proceeds of the crime by transferring them to different 

accounts through bank accounts and cryptocurrency platforms. 

Following the investigations, police teams raided an office in Ata 

Center in Maslak, where 80 foreign nationals were present, yesterday 

morning. In the operation, 51 suspects were taken into custody.

"Fleece & Release": Elderly Man "Hypnotized" By Scammers Who Phoned Him 50 Times, in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 2 July 2026)

    Henceforth he'll answer with "I don't speak Turkish!".

In Istanbul's Beşiktaş district, suspects who called 83-year-old Dinçer K., 

identified themselves as police officers, and stole 1758 Republic gold 

coins from his safe deposit box were apprehended and taken into 

custody.

Dinçer K., who identified the suspect who took the bag full of gold 

from him, explained how he believed the scammers with these words:

"In the last 10 years, I was called 10-15 times a year for scams. I 

understood these and always refused. But this time I believed the 

person who called. They said my bank accounts were being used 

for money laundering and asked me to help them. I am a patriot. 

I agreed to help them. 

Dinçer bey's new life coach...

They called me about 50 times. Following their instructions, I went 

to the bank, put the gold from the safe deposit box into a bag, and 

took it with me. They told me to go to a street near the Etiler metro 

station. I did as they said. Then someone came to me. While talking

on the phone, he asked, ‘Sir, I'm with the person, should I take the 

gold?’ 

After receiving a positive answer, he opened the bag he had on his 

chest. I put the gold inside. He quickly left. He was wearing a beanie 

and trying to hide his face. I am also a money and capital markets 

expert. These were savings my wife and I had accumulated over 

35 years. They practically hypnotized me (!(. They stole it all. I 

thank the police for catching the suspects. I warn everyone to be 

more careful."

"Procreate & Release": Thief's Repeated Pregnancies Keep Her Out of Jail, in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 2 July 2026)

   Her "Get out of jail free" card is pregnant with meaning. 

Elif Ş., who has 157 criminal records and a confirmed prison sentence 

of 127 years, and who, according to the law, is released with a delay

of her sentence each time she becomes pregnant (!), was apprehended 

in Istanbul in an operation supported by special forces. It was determined 

that Elif Ş., a mother of seven, was three months pregnant with her 

eighth child (!) at the time of her arrest. 

Police teams could not find any address information for the suspect in 

the system. Further investigation revealed that Elif Ş. was staying with 

relatives along with her children. Upon investigation of her relatives, 

it was discovered that a 70-year-old relative had recently subscribed to 

high-speed internet at her home, prompting the police to put that house 

under surveillance. 

An operation was launched after it was determined that Elif Ş. was 

staying there. With the participation of Special Operations police, Elif Ş. 

was apprehended and taken into custody during the operation at the 

house in Beyoğlu, Istanbul. Investigations revealed that the suspect, who 

had previously been arrested but released due to her pregnancies, was 

three months pregnant with her eighth child, as she already had seven 

children aged 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 12 (!).

Maybe one day Elif hanım will find out what they are.

Police investigations revealed that security camera footage of the 

suspect's thefts in shopping malls was available. It was determined 

that the suspect, Elif Ş., concealed her face by wearing a black veil 

during the thefts, aiming to evade facial recognition systems. It was 

also discovered that she has 18 outstanding warrants for theft of 

property kept inside a building and theft of property carried on the 

person or in possession using special skill.

In her statement to the police, Elif hanım "explained" "I learned this 

from my mother and father; this is my profession."  (!) Following her 

questioning at the police station, the suspect was referred to the 

courthouse.

"Mint & Release": Fake Gold Produced and Spread in Southeast Anatolia

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 1 July 2026)

                       The color seems right anyway...

In a simultaneous operation targeting the production and sale of 

counterfeit gold across 10 provinces, centered in Kahramanmaraş, 

67 out of 71 suspects were apprehended. The operation seized illicit 

goods with a market value of approximately 150 million TL 

(about $3.2 million).

According to the information obtained, investigations into the 

increasing number of counterfeit gold cases in Kahramanmaraş in 

recent years revealed that gold coins such as quarter, half, and full 

gold coins, as well as Atatürk liras, which should be minted at the 

Turkish Mint, were being produced in unlicensed workshops with 

low purity and insufficient weight.

Kahramanmaraş branch just opened...and closed.

Following this, the Kahramanmaraş Chief Public Prosecutor's Office 

launched an investigation into the crimes of "counterfeiting currency, 

counterfeiting equivalent value, and aggravated fraud." As a result of 

wiretapping orders and technical investigations conducted within the 

scope of the investigation, 71 suspects were identified, including 

jewelers, workshop owners, marketers, and mold makers in 

Kahramanmaraş, Mersin, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Bursa, Hatay, Malatya, 

Diyarbakır, Kilis, and Sivas.

On June 30th, at 06:00, a simultaneous operation was conducted in 10 

provinces with the participation of 150 teams and 490 personnel. During 

the operation, 67 of the 71 suspects were taken into custody, and efforts 

to  apprehend the remaining suspects are ongoing.

During searches conducted at the addresses in the operation, 108 seals, 

79 Ata Lira coins, 813 full gold coins, 792 half gold coins, 2,634 quarter 

gold coins, 3,666 grams of gold, various gram and Reşat gold coins, 151 

figural gold pieces, approximately 1 kilogram and 590 grams of gold 

jewelry, and 105.84 grams of plate gold were seized. Additionally, 9 

unlicensed rifles, 8 unlicensed pistols, 5 blank-firing pistols, 4 magazines, 

3,338 cartridges and rounds of ammunition, 3 cutting tools, and 26 

synthetic pills were also confiscated. The market value of the seized 

items is estimated to be approximately 150 million Turkish Lira.

There's gold in them there hills!