The 'torture' incident excluded from the Ayhan Bora Kaplan indictment: Locked in a cold storage room and held at gunpoint

Caner Taşpınar

Ayhan Bora Kaplan, who used to sell CDs and work as a street vendor in Kızılay Square, Ankara, became a well-known criminal organization leader after expanding into drug dealing and trafficking.   

It was also revealed that Ayhan Bora Kaplan acted as a police informant to help catch other gang leaders in Ankara, and he rose to the top, especially in the last 5 years. He became a well-known name in Ankara through entertainment venues, drug trafficking, and fraud. 

Kaplan and his team were detained on September 7, 2023, at Ankara Esenboğa Airport while attempting to flee abroad. Kaplan had an arrest warrant issued against him for "establishing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes," "intentional injury," and "deprivation of liberty." Kaplan, who was taken into custody, was arrested by the Ankara Criminal Court of Peace on September 12.

There are 12 complainants and 61 defendants in the Ayhan Bora Kaplan indictment.

However, there are also victims who are not included in the indictment. Some of these victims may not have pursued their complaints, perhaps out of fear. 

12Punto has reached the document regarding the torture incident that did not make it into the Ayhan Bora Kaplan indictment. 

The secret witness codenamed "M7" in the Kaplan file had been exposed, and it was revealed that he was Serdar Sertçelik, the number two of the gang. An "investigation report" was prepared based on evidence regarding the accuracy of the claims made in Sertçelik's secret witness testimony. A "torture" incident that was not included in the indictment emerged from the report prepared by the Ankara Police.

In the incident described under the heading "The Fraud of Onur the Cheesemonger" in the secret witness testimony, it was stated that Onur was defrauded under the pretext of a market transfer and that the order was given by Ayhan Bora Kaplan. 

So, who was this Onur the Cheesemonger?

Onur Hasan Tavut…

Onur Hasan Tavut, who testified as a complainant, was not included in the indictment. 

Let's hear “who” he is from himself: 

“I have been working in the cheese manufacturing sector, which is my father's profession, for about 13-14 years. With my own registered company, I manufacture cheese and distribute these products to markets and wholesalers in 81 provinces. I have been operating this way for many years. Together with my wife, we decided to try opening our own market to sell the products we produced. Regarding this matter, I consulted individuals named Kenan Akpolat and Sedat Çelik, who are tradesmen in the cheese sector like us in GİMAT, and asked them if they knew anyone who was ready to transfer their market, telling them that I had some savings and was thinking of entering the market sector.”

That is how it all began. 

The people Onur Hasan Tavut asked for help directed him to the owner of the markets formerly known as "Elmacı Market" and now known as "Mandıracı Amca". 

For those following the Ayhan Bora Kaplan file, the Elmacı Market chain is not new. 

Muhammed Sağ, who is included in the indictment as a victim-complainant, was defrauded by Ayhan Bora Kaplan and his team during the establishment process of these Elmacı Markets, and both he and his family were threatened. 

Let's continue with Onur Hasan Tavut's testimony:

“On January 30, 2023, I met with Burak Bozbeyoğlu at their central office in GİMAT. My business partners Halil İbrahim Kılıç, Sedat Çelik, and Kenan Akpolat were also present at this meeting. In our meeting with Burak Bozbeyoğlu here, we negotiated and shook hands on the transfer of a total of 7 stores for 11,500,000 TL. Upon this, I handed over customer checks in my possession with a total value of 11,500,000 TL to Burak Bozbeyoğlu. Burak told me he would have the checks checked. About an hour after I left there, he called me and said he accepted the checks. The next day, Burak Bozbeyoğlu called me to his factory in Temelli. I went to this factory at around 14:00, as I recall. I met with Burak Bozbeyoğlu there. He told me that his partners, whom I did not know or recognize, named Ayhan and Erkan, did not accept the checks, and he proposed that instead of these checks, I should stock the 7 stores with products and that he would take the revenue obtained from these sold products, and that he wanted to receive the 11,500,000 TL we agreed upon in this way. I accepted, took the checks back from Burak Bozbeyoğlu, called the friends I supply goods from, and requested goods consisting of dairy products worth approximately 9,000,000 TL, and had the invoices issued to my own company. A day later, 2 of the total 4 trucks of goods were unloaded at the central office in GİMAT, and 2 trucks were unloaded at the factory in Temelli. Later, after distributing these products to the stores, I took charge of the stores. In the meantime, we had agreed in principle with Burak Bozbeyoğlu, and the stores had unofficially been transferred to me. Burak Bozbeyoğlu was putting me off regarding the transfer of the stores, saying 'we'll handle it, don't be in a hurry.' The revenue obtained from the sale of the goods I brought went directly to Burak Bozbeyoğlu's account. The daily turnover was given to Burak Bozbeyoğlu in cash and deducted from my debt. At the end of two months, the entire 11,500,000 TL debt to Burak Bozbeyoğlu had been paid. Although I told Burak Bozbeyoğlu every time that he should now transfer the stores, he stalled me with various excuses. During this process, he told me that his partner, the person named Ayhan Bora Kaplan, did not accept the 11,500,000 TL we agreed upon and wanted 2,000,000 TL more.”

'YILDIRIM', WHO TOOK THE PARLIAMENT PODIUM WITH AKŞENER, IS INVOLVED

It is time for an important name in Onur Hasan Tavut's testimony: Erkan Yıldırım.

Erkan Yıldırım, who is listed as a "suspect" in the Ayhan Bora Kaplan indictment, is abroad... Regarding Yıldırım, Muhammed Sağ, one of the complainants in the file, had said, "Erkan Yıldırım called me from a UK number, but I am sure he is in Dubai." 

Serdar Sertçelik, the secret witness who was exposed and codenamed "M7", said the following about the relationship between Erkan Yıldırım and Ayhan Bora Kaplan:

“For the procurement of vehicles for armed cadres, vehicles are obtained from Point Rent A Car, which is in the name of Erkan Yıldırım, both in normal times and whenever they are going to be involved in any incident, using fake identities. For example, when these vehicles are used in the commission of a crime, Erkan Yıldırım gets involved. At the same time, Ozan Can YILDIZ and Doğan Kaan Yıldız also get involved. They are also engaged in the Rent A Car business. When the license plate information of the vehicle related to the incident is determined by law enforcement, these individuals, as the owners of the Police Rent A Car company, would show the vehicle as if they had rented it to another third party with fake identities under their own statements. Erkan Yıldırım is also aware that these vehicles are provided under fake identities. They use such a method because he is Ayhan Bora Kaplan's man and to extricate himself if a possible incident occurs.”

Serdar Sertçelik also explained that Ayhan Bora Kaplan and Erkan Yıldırım obtained 20-25 million TL in unfair profit by committing fraud in vehicle sales. 

Erkan Yıldırım had also made an appearance on the IYI Party's parliamentary podium. 

Complainant Muhammed Sağ, who knows Erkan Yıldırım, said on the "Kayıt Dışı" program on Tele1, which he attended on May 20, 2024, "The person speaking on the IYI Party podium is Erkan Yıldırım, the name who has a relationship with Ayhan Bora Kaplan."    

Erkan Yıldırım, who is listed as a "suspect" in the Ayhan Bora Kaplan file, attended the IYI Party group meeting on October 14, 2021, and gave a speech about "industrialists." Former IYI Party Chair Meral Akşener had invited Yıldırım to the podium by saying, "This week, we are hosting an industrialist brother of ours on the nation's podium. Erkan Yıldırım is among us... Please, brother Erkan, the word and the podium are yours." 

We got to know Yıldırım a little before reading the Erkan Yıldırım section from Onur Hasan Tavut's testimony. 

'HE LOCKED ME IN THE STORE'S COLD STORAGE AND LEFT ME STRANDED FOR AN HOUR'

Now, let's continue reading Onur Hasan Tavut's testimony: 

“While I was at the central office in Gimat, the person whose name I later learned was Erkan Yıldırım came to me and made a harsh entry, asking, 'Are you going to pay for these markets or not?' I asked him who he was. This person told me that he was the owner of these places. I told him that I had paid for the markets to Burak Bozbeyoğlu. Erkan Yıldırım told me that no money had been given to him at all, only 350,000 TL, and that he would talk to Burak Bozbeyoğlu and get back to me. As I recall, Burak Bozbeyoğlu called me on the evening of the same day and asked where I was. I told him I was at the branch in Yenimahalle. About an hour later, he came to me with an unidentified person. Burak Bozbeyoğlu attacked me and punched me because I told Erkan Yıldırım about these issues. He threatened me by saying, 'If you mention Erkan Yıldırım again about the 11,500,000 TL you paid me, if you say I paid my debt and it's over, I will ruin you.' Later, he locked me in the cold storage of the same store and left me stranded for an hour. At that time, an employee named B. T. was present in the store. He witnessed these events. After I stayed in the cold storage for an hour, he took me out, showed me a gun, and left the shop, saying, 'Be smart, I will ruin you.'"

'WE WILL GRIND YOU IN THE MEAT GRINDER'

The day after the torture he suffered, Onur Hasan Tavut went to Burak Bozbeyoğlu's factory in Temelli upon Erkan Yıldırım's invitation to settle accounts. Onur Hasan Tavut explained that he had made the necessary payments, but Burak Bozbeyoğlu said, "I didn't receive that much payment." Onur Hasan Tavut then left the factory and instructed his accountants to calculate the account. Indeed, Burak Bozbeyoğlu had shown one day of daily turnover as an exit in his own name, but his name did not appear on the other day. Let's read what happened at this meeting from Onur Hasan Tavut's testimony: 

“I realized that Burak Bozbeyoğlu was taking the daily turnovers from the cash register but not recording them in his name, and in this way, there was a deficit of 6,000,000 TL. He had continued this for days by systematically recording it one day and not recording it the next. After I realized this, I called Erkan Yıldırım and we went to the factory again with the same people. Together with the store employees and accountants, we calculated the accounts and put them in front of them. Later, when the regional manager İbrahim Kapusuz said, 'You are thieves, you have officially stolen money from the cash register,' Berkan Bozbeyoğlu and his father Fikret Bozbeyoğlu attacked İbrahim Kapusuz and threatened him by saying, 'We will grind you in the meat grinder downstairs.' Erkan Yıldırım and Burak Bozbeyoğlu said, 'If you pay another 4,000,000 TL, we will close the account and give you the transfers. If you don't pay this money, we will add 10 percent interest per week.' I couldn't say anything. Because my goods worth 20,000,000 TL were in these people's store and 10,000,000 TL of my money was also gone.”

HE HELD A GUN TO HIS HEAD AND TOOK THE LICENSE

After this incident, Onur Hasan Tavut looked for ways to find 4 million TL. Directed by the people he traded with, he went to Semih Perveç and agreed with him on a car worth 6 million TL. They would give this car in exchange for the debt and take over the markets, and Semih Perveç would also be a partner. But that's not what happened! During the notary sale, Semih Perveç realized they were going to be defrauded and said, "There is no license." Despite there being no license, the notary made the transfer to Burak Bozbeyoğlu. Upon returning from the notary, there was another threat from Bozbeyoğlu; let's continue from Onur Hasan Tavut's testimony: 

“About an hour after the transfer of the vehicle, Burak Bozbeyoğlu held a gun to Semih Perveç's head in the vehicle and told him to give the license. Semih Perveç also had to give the license. When we asked when he would transfer the market, he clearly showed his intention by saying, 'I'm not transferring it, damn it, take it if you can.' For this reason, my relationship with Semih Perveç also soured and we started having problems. I also closed my account by giving him goods worth 6,000,000 TL to compensate for Semih Perveç's grievance.”

Under the instruction of Burak Bozbeyoğlu and Erkan Yıldırım, they tried to collect the workplace keys of all store managers. I found out about this when the store managers called me. I told them not to give them. They changed the locks of all workplaces without my knowledge. After the keys were changed, I wanted to get them back. I went to Burak Bozbeyoğlu for days. Later, I called Erkan Yıldırım to be able to take my products remaining in the store so that they would not spoil due to the power outage at the Esertepe branch. At night, I gathered nearly 15 personnel, arranged transportation, and went to Esertepe. Their men, Harun Demir and Batuhan Kaplan, came here. They opened the store door. I had a fight with Harun Demir here. He also threatened me by saying, 'We will kill you one day.' I was scared and left there. After I left, a car full of men, including Ayhan Bora Kaplan's men, who had machine guns, came and threatened the employees there by saying, 'We will kill your boss.' After hearing about this incident, I sent my wife to her family's hometown. After this incident, a person named Hakan, the owner of Hakan Restaurant, who said he knew Ayhan Bora Kaplan, told me that he would have me meet with Ayhan Bora Kaplan and help me get the markets transferred. Later, I spoke with Ayhan Bora Kaplan by phone.”

Here is the transcript of the phone conversation between Ayhan Bora Kaplan and Onur Hasan Tavut that entered the Police and prosecutor's records: 

BORA KAPLAN: How much debt does this kid normally owe you?

ONUR HASAN TAVUT: It's not clear!

BORA KAPLAN: Do you have a debt of three million one hundred?

ONUR HASAN TAVUT: Yes, brother, I have a debt of three million one hundred.

BORA KAPLAN: So how much have you received so far? (Unintelligible sounds)

ONUR HASAN TAVUT: No, brother.

BORA KAPLAN: (Unintelligible sounds) Are you listening, son?

ONUR HASAN TAVUT: I'm listening, brother. I really have a debt of three million one hundred lira, brother. Brother Erkan, Brother Burak, the three of us sat down at Brother Burak's factory and settled the account.

BORA KAPLAN: (Calls out to the person next to him) - Burak, be quiet.

BORA KAPLAN:. .. . . . ... . .. . . .(Unintelligible sounds) Onur.

ONUR HASAN TAVUT: Yes, brother.

BORA KAPLAN: ...... .... (Unintelligible sounds)

ONUR HASAN TAVUT: Brother, I sold a market branch for three million one hundred. The man will also give the side checks in Gimat.

BORA KAPLAN: Forget the branch now, do you have three million one hundred? Can you pay this money on Monday?

ONUR HASAN TAVUT: I don't have that much in cash right now. I don't have that much money, brother.

BORA KAPLAN: If you can pay on Monday, come, brother......... (Unintelligible sounds)

ONUR HASAN TAVUT: Okay, brother.

BORA KAPLAN: Bring the money on Monday, my brother............... (Unintelligible sounds)

ONUR HASAN TAVUT: Brother, I can't arrange it by Monday.

Let's come to the end of the incident…

Onur Hasan Tavut settled for 4 of the 7 branches he was waiting for the transfer of. 3 branches were sold, but 4 branches remained with Burak Bozbeyoğlu. 

When Onur Hasan Tavut lost hope, he took over a market named Gurmeden in the Yenimahalle district on behalf of his uncle to recover his financial situation. A short time after he started operating this place, there was a theft incident one night. In the morning, there was a note on the desk at the workplace. The note read, "We won't let you do business anywhere unless we want it."

News Source: 12punto