"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!