French DJ's Playlist a Bit Too Ecstatic

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(HaberTürk Newspaper, 5 April 2018)


From the look on his face, Yannick Michel B. may be eating
up all the profits.

Turkish customs police at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul became suspicious
of Frenchman Yannick Michel B. when he arrived from Amsterdam. 
Yannick Michel B., who works as a DJ in Istanbul and Dalaman, on the
Aegean shore, tried to pass through the "nothing to declare" customs
line but police had sniffer dogs Csonti and Csacsi check his bags.

When the dogs reacted police did a thorough search of Yannick Michel
B.'s suitcase and found in a false bottom 3,917 ecstacy pills, 12,000
LSD strips and 2,102 narcotics items, with a total value of 2,680,000 TL
(about $600,000).  Yannick Michel B. was taken to the Bakırköy police
stantion and arrested.

Unhealthy "Check-up" Gang Foiled

2
türkçe links to original Turkish article

(HaberTürk Newspaper, 4 April 2018)


        Aziz Tarhan T. in a family-friendly pose.

Istanbul police determined that a fraud gang was bilking citizens with
the promise of 'check-ups' or 'reduced price treatments at private hospitals'
via SMS and call centers. Raids in Istanbul and Afyonkarahisar nabbed
ringleader Aziz Tarhan T., a former banker, Abdullah S., the owner of
a cargo company who let gang members use his virtual POS credit card
device, and 13 others.  Aziz Tarhan T., who is a partner in two nightclubs (!)
was arrested at his villa in Kadıköy, Istanbul.

Over the past 5 years, the gang swindled 5,046 individuals out of 2 million
TL (about $500,000).  Police determined that in two of those years 2,370
different credit cards were charged 1 million TL in 2,370 separate
transactions using the POS device belonging to the cargo company of
Abdullah S., who was taken into custody at the gang's call center in
Kağıthane, Istanbul. 

The gang called thousands of citizens under various names, such as
'Turkish Assistance for Health Services', 'Turkey Assistance Services'
and 'ASL Consultancy', and offered them cards for 350 TL that would
supposedly enable them to get 'check-ups' at all private hospitals.
However, people who tried to use the cards at hospitals were turned
away.  When they called the call center they got a busy signal.  Yet,
the gang would call its 'customers' telling them "your service period
has expired. You must pay 350 TL to have the service restored.  If
you want to end the service you must pay 2,000 TL. Otherwise, we
will start legal proceedings."

One of the gang's victims, Mürsel Gürel, explained that "they called
from a number I didn't recognize and offered the card for reduced
prices at hospitals. I accepted the offer but they kept calling me for
3-4 years, continually demanding 300 TL more.  In the end, I sent
them 300 TL just to get out of the situation.  But they called again.
I still get messages from them, although 6-7 years have passed."


"I'm not a doctor but I'll be glad to play one in jail."

South American Banditos Sailed the Atlantic to Rob Turks

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 4 April 2018)

 
Evidently, banditos can get serious wanderlust, too.

In Bursa the day before yesterday, the window of Melih S.'s parked car
was smashed and $68,000 stolen from within.  The four suspects in the
incident were captured through some excellent police work.  Checking
surveillance video, police determined that the suspects fled toward
Şehreküstü Square and then two of them changed direction toward the
Hocahasan neighborhood.  Meanwhile, the other two suspects got into
a white car and took off toward Yalova.

Police identified the car as a rental but could not access the car's GPS
signal.  Nevertheless, video showed that the car went to Gölcük in
Kocaeli province, where all four suspects were taken into custody.
They were brought back to Bursa for processing and it turned out
that they had come to Turkey from South America (!).  The suspects
were identified as Cesar G. and Neberu A.Q.V. of Peru, Jaiko E.R.C.
of Colombia and Roberto R. of Cuba.

Giving their statements to police through a translator, the thieves
explained that since people in Europe don't keep lots of cash around
they came to Turkey.  The four crossed the Atlantic by ship because
they all have police records in their home countries and would have
been stopped boarding planes (!).  Police found wigs, hats and signal-
disruptors among the suspects' belongings.  The $68,000 stolen from
Melih S. was returned to him and the thieves were sent to jail.


13,000 kilometers, just to spend some years in a Turkish jail.
     

Future Divers are Landlubbers for Now

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(HaberTürk Newspaper, 3 April 2018)


The English translation of Kayaköy is "Gilligan's Island"

In the morning, in the waters off Kayaköy village in Fethiye district of
Muğla province, citizens alerted authorities about a sinking boat.  The
Coast Guard quickly sent 5 boats, a plane and two helicopters to the
scene and the Navy sent two gunboats.  It was determined that the boat
"Mer-May", owned by a diving school, had sunk in the vicinity of Türk
Hamam village near Akful Monastery, Kayaköy.


        Good to be back on Mother Earth.

On the boat were 71 Sabancı University students who had come to
Fethiye for the traditional 4 night-5 day Spring Break Dive and Tour
Program.  Fortunately, since the students were all good swimmers
they were able to make it onto the rocks without too much trouble.
All the students and the 7-member crew were rescued by a combined
response team made up of the Navy, Coast Guard, Gendarmerie and
UMKE.  Fethiye District Chief Muzaffer Şahiner said that some of
the students had some minor scratches and 4 were treated for heat
stroke.

Devilish Plan to Hoodwink Chinese Firms

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(HaberTürk Newspaper, 2 April 2018)


"Hey, a trip to China is on my bucket list."

The latest victims of a fraud gang are Chinese companies that make
printers, but the gang was busted in a police operation in Istanbul.
Jiangsu Orient Co. Ltd. and Dongfoug Co. Ltd. officials filed a
complaint with Istanbul police, who quickly identified the 6-person
gang of bilkers, arresting gang leader Y.E. and his father B.E., along
with A.E.D., H.K., L.M. and M.Y.

Police found checks and promissory notes at the suspects' addresses,
as well as 3 Glock revolvers, known as assassination weapons, bullet-
proof vests and 400,000 TL (about $100,000).  The gang used a method
to hoodwink the Chinese companies that even the devil wouldn't think
of.  Gang members went to China (!), ordered printers from the two
companies and paid for them promptly, to gain the companies' trust.
Then, the gang told the companies that "we've found a good customer
in Azerbaijan.  We'll sell the machines as transit goods."

The gang placed a $1.2 million order with the companies and the
printers were sent to Turkey by ship.  The Chinese were told that
"the customers in Azerbaijan will look at the machines and then take
care of import procedures."  In this way, the gang was able to have
the printers pass through Turkish customs without paying.  The
gang then used fake documents to move the printers to their own
firms, shut down their operations quickly and thereby prevented the
Chinese companies from tracking them down. (or so they thought!)




         Made in China, Hoodwinked in Turkey

10 Euro Toll Revolt on Kosova-Albania Border

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(HaberTürk Newspaper, 2 April 2018)


              For whom the toll is too much.

The toll booths built by the Turkish-American consortium ENKA-Bechtel
for the $1 billion highway that connects Kosova and Albania, have been
burned down at the two nations' border by people protesting the new 10 Euro
toll. 

The new highway reduces transit time between Dures in Albania and
Kosova's Morina border from 7 hours to 3 hours and was opened to traffic
in 2009.  However, in the past few days, the new 10 Euro toll has been
demanded from drivers, inciting the wrath of both Albanian and Kosovan
citizens.  The toll booths on the Albanian side have been burned down
one by one (!).  One citizen explained to reporters that "the Albanian PM
should be ashamed of himself.  Albania and Kosova are one state but
these toll booths have separated Kosova. The cities of Pristina, Prizren,
on the Kosova side, and Kukes, on the Albanian side, are one.  The
purpose of this road was to bind Albania and Kosova together."

Russian Baking Gets Personal in Ankara

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 1 April 2018)


                The artist-baker at work.

Ayça Duman Kaleli is the fifth generation representative of the cake-making
Duman family.  At her bakery in Ankara Ayça hanım makes personalized
cakes from sugar dough, to include ones of Salvador Dali, Marilyn Monroe
and cartoon characters.  Ayça hanım, a student in the Hacettepe University
Fine Arts Faculty's Portrait Department, says that "I've combined my art
with cake-making.  The only profession that can reflect my soul and art is
baking.

The first generation of the Duman family went to Czarist Russia from Rize
on Turkey's eastern Black Sea coast to learn baking and returned following
the Bolshevik Revolution to open a bakery in Giresun.  A branch of the
family moved to Ankara and opened the Damla Bakery in 1964, with
Varol Duman carrying on his father Bahadır Duman's legacy. 


          On the Island of Misfit Cakes.

Ayça hanım opened the Damla Cake Workshop and designs and makes
unique, personalized cakes, some of which she makes in an hour, while
others may take months to finish.  She explained that "people bring me
photos for a personalized cake and I ascribe expressions and personality
to the person in the photo and make the cake."  She trains interns so
that the art can be extended into further generations and sells her cakes
both domestically and abroad.

    
Seems like a sin to actually eat the masterpiece. (But looks
yummy, too.)