'Fugitive Police Chief İlker Arslan surrenders in Antalya': Brother detained after being mistaken for him

The Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued a detention warrant for Police Chief İlker Arslan, who was suspended as part of the investigation into the detained Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Muhittin Böcek.

According to journalist İsmail Saymaz, Arslan's phones were turned off and he could not be reached. Saymaz suggested that other individuals connected to Arslan might also be detained.

Antalya Police Chief İlker Arslan was suspended from duty today as part of an ongoing investigation.

The General Directorate of Security announced that Arslan was suspended by the Ministry of Interior as part of an investigation and issued the following statement:

"As part of the investigation being conducted by the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Antalya Provincial Police Chief İlker Arslan has been suspended by the Ministry of Interior. Respectfully announced to the public."

NAME MENTIONED IN TESTIMONIES

According to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's instruction letter, new developments occurred following the arrest of Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Muhittin Böcek on July 5, 2025, on charges of "taking bribes." Following Böcek's suspension by the Ministry of Interior on July 6, 2025, investigations revealed that the name of 1st Class Police Chief İlker Arslan was mentioned in the testimonies of a business person and E.T., who received tenders from municipal subsidiaries.

The testimonies alleged that Arslan engaged in bribery and interest-based relationships through Fazlı Ateş. Investigations determined that Ateş transferred money to Arslan or his family, and that Arslan's wife had previously been registered with the Social Security Institution (SGK) at a company owned by Fazlı Ateş and received payments under the guise of a salary.

Following these developments, it was determined that İlker Arslan, who was suspended by the General Directorate of Security's Inspection Board, was in Ankara. The Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office ordered Arslan's detention on charges of "mediating bribery, qualified fraud, and illicit acquisition of assets."

In addition, the Prosecutor's Office ordered the detention of Fazlı Ateş on charges of mediating bribery and qualified fraud.

It was decided that the testimony of İlker Arslan's wife, Melek Arslan, would also be taken as a suspect.

WIFE GAVE TESTIMONY, BROTHER IN CUSTODY

While İlker Arslan's wife, Melek Arslan, was invited to the police station today to give her testimony as a 'suspect,' his brother, who bears a striking resemblance to him, was detained.

His brother, who looks exactly like Arslan, was caught when his vehicle was stopped while driving on the Niğde highway. The resemblance between İlker Arslan and his brother raised suspicions that they were employing a "decoy" tactic. For this reason, the brother was detained on charges of "aiding and abetting a criminal."

FUGITIVE POLICE CHIEF SURRENDERS

Journalist İsmail Saymaz announced that Arslan, for whom the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had issued an arrest warrant as part of the investigation into the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, had surrendered with the following words:

"Fugitive Police Chief İlker Arslan has surrendered in Antalya."

WHO IS İlker Arslan?

He began his first assignment at the Ankara Provincial Police Department. Later, he served in various units, including the General Directorate of Security, Siirt, and Ankara, and worked as the Head of the Witness Protection Department between 2016 and 2021.

Between 2021 and 2024, he served for 3 years as the Interior Attaché at the Embassy of North Macedonia in Skopje.

He was appointed as the Antalya Provincial Police Chief by a Presidential Decree on August 16, 2024.