"Fleece & Release": Shepherds Took a Bath in Ankara, While Thieves Stole Their Cattle in Sivrihisar

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 18 April 2026)

                     Got a bath AND his herd back!

Four of the eight suspects who were found to have taken shepherds to a 

bathhouse in Ankara and who stole and sold 36 head of cattle worth 

5 millionTL (about $111,500)  from barns in Sivrihisar district of Eskişehir, 

were arrested. The 36 head of cattle, which were determined to have been 

sold in Bolvadin district of Afyonkarahisar, were returned to their owners.

Three individuals who came to Sivrihisar district took the shepherds 

working in the cattle barns to a bathhouse in Ankara. Meanwhile, three 

other individuals arrived at the barns with trucks, stole 36 head of cattle, 

and fled.

Following the shepherds' report, the Eskişehir Gendarmerie Command's 

JASAT Detective Teams and the Sivrihisar District Gendarmerie Command 

launched an investigation. The investigation revealed that the stolen cattle 

were taken to Bolvadin district in Afyonkarahisar and sold.

In a simultaneous operation conducted by gendarmerie teams in Eskişehir 

and Afyonkarahisar, 8 suspects were apprehended and taken into custody. 

36 head of cattle, with an estimated market value of 5 million TL, were 

returned to their owners. Following instructions from the Sivrihisar Public 

Prosecutor, the 8 suspects, whose statements were taken at the Gendarmerie 

Command, were referred to the courthouse. Four of the suspects were 

arrested and imprisoned, while the others were released.