Four gang members arrested after swindling, killing Iranian in Istanbul
ISTANBUL
Istanbul police have conducted an operation against a gang which tried to swindle Iranian tourists and overcharge them during their stay at a venue in the Fatih district of Istanbul in an incident which led to the death of one of the tourists, daily Habertürk reported on Oct. 3. Moving upon intelligence that the gang, called the “Hanutçu,” would send one of its representatives to the hospital where the Iranians were taken to check on their health situation, police moved in and dispatched undercover police to the entrances of the hospital.
Police initially detained the visiting watchman of the gang, identifying him at the hospital and during his interrogation to determine the addresses of the group’s alleged ringleader, Erol Satılmış, along with four other members of the gang.
Security forces later carried out an operation at the designated addresses and detained six members of the Hanutçu, including Satılmış. It also found knives at the scene that might have been used in the gang’s alleged crimes.
Satılmış and four other members of the group were later arrested.
An Iranian tourist who objected to the price of a bill was killed in front of a nightclub in the Fatih district of Istanbul on Sept. 29.
A fight erupted between Iranian tourists H.K., 40, and P.M., 29, and a group of suspects who took the two men to a nightclub on late Sept. 29 in the Kemalpaşa area of Fatih.
H.K. and P.M. were stabbed during the fight and taken to hospital. H.K. succumbed to his injuries following the incident.
Meanwhile, the Iranian Embassy in Turkey issued a warning to its citizens who are planning to visit the latter, calling on them to “stay away from unsafe and crowded places.”
The warning was released in the Iranian media for the country’s citizens while also mentioning the deadly incident involving H.K.
In addition, the country warned its citizens to consider the warnings which are given by the Iranian embassy and its representative offices.
