International murder operation!

In İzmir, the body of a 19-year-old man was found in a field. Following a very brief investigation, it was determined that the murder was committed by the victim's older brother, who had fled to Serbia. The system moved so quickly that the prosecutor's office issued a red notice. The General Directorate of Security's Department of Public Order, the Interpol Department, and the Department of Foreign Relations established contact with their counterparts in Serbia. Teams from the İzmir Public Order Branch Directorate then traveled to Serbia and brought the fratricide suspect back to Turkey. Here is the successful operation that began in İzmir and concluded at Belgrade Airport in Serbia, 1,264 km away.

Perhaps we only see such rapid identification and apprehension of an international murder suspect in movies. I will tell you about this murder, which is worthy of a film, and the coordination involved in its resolution. On Saturday, April 13, 2024, around 13:00, a citizen who went to collect herbs on his land in an olive grove on the road to Özbek village in Urla district saw a male body under a tree. Following the citizen's report, police teams dispatched to the scene determined through their investigations that the body belonged to 19-year-old Eyüp Çelik.

Experienced homicide detectives from the İzmir Public Order Branch Directorate launched an investigation to identify the people Eyüp Çelik had last met. Teams from the İzmir Intelligence Branch Directorate and the Urla District Police Department also supported this effort. Just 3 hours after the murder, the experienced team determined that Eyüp Çelik had last met with his own older brother, Erol Çelik, and that the brother had committed the murder.

Teams working to apprehend Erol Çelik determined that he had purchased a plane ticket to Belgrade, Serbia, for a 16:10 flight on the day of the murder. Teams from the Homicide Bureau of the Public Order Branch Directorate, who went to İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport, learned after reviewing airport security camera footage that Erol Çelik had boarded the 16:10 flight and would land in Serbia at 17:15. (The flight time between İzmir and Belgrade is 1 hour and 42 minutes) (Serbia is 1 hour behind Turkey in terms of time difference)

When the teams checked their watches, they saw it was 16:45 and there was only half an hour left until the plane landed. It was during this half-hour that phone calls and correspondence between İzmir, Ankara, and Serbia intensified. A rapid communication network was established between the Head of the Department of Public Order of the General Directorate of Security, the Head of the Interpol-Europol Department, and the Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, who contacted their counterparts in Serbia to provide information and request the detention of the murder suspect. During this process, the Urla Chief Public Prosecutor's Office also issued a red notice for the suspect. As soon as the plane landed on the runway at the airport, Erol Çelik was detained by Serbian and Interpol police. All these processes were being reported moment by moment to Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya.

A team was formed at the Homicide Bureau of the İzmir Public Order Branch Directorate to retrieve the murder suspect from Serbia. The experienced team traveled to Serbia, took custody of Erol Çelik, and brought him back to İzmir.

Erol Çelik, who stated in his interrogation that he killed his brother due to a debt dispute, was arrested. We used to think that the 5-day process from the time of the murder to his capture, involving the rapid coordination of the police, the prosecutor's office, and the departments, and bringing a murder suspect from 1,264 km away, only happened in movie scenes. However, this capture was not a movie scene; it was real. Finally, it is worth noting that the İzmir police generally carry out numerous operations. However, it does not go unnoticed that the İzmir Public Order Branch Directorate, especially its homicide and robbery bureaus as well as other units, also apprehend criminals in a very short time.