Major scandal at PTT: 1.5 million items missing, 20 tons of mail gone

Serious allegations have emerged regarding hundreds of thousands of citizens' items entrusted to PTT in Bursa. It has been claimed that at the Osmangazi Mail and Cargo Distribution Directorate, affiliated with the Bursa PTT Chief Directorate, mail delivered over the years was not delivered to its addresses and its fate remains uncertain.

1.5 MILLION PIECES OF MAIL DELIVERED IN THREE YEARS

According to a report in BirGün, approximately 1 million 500 thousand postal items were delivered to the Osmangazi Mail and Cargo Distribution Directorate by individuals and legal entities between 2022, 2023, and 2024. According to the allegations, these items were not sent out for distribution, were not delivered to their addresses, and were stored in the basement of the directorate.

CLAIMS THAT MAIL WAS NOT DISTRIBUTED

It was alleged that the items, which reportedly had no official records and consisted mostly of letters, were accumulated in the basement instead of being sent out for distribution. It was claimed that the items were kept for a long time without being delivered to their owners and were removed from the system.

“SOLD TO PAPER RECYCLERS” ALLEGATION

Another striking allegation regarding the 1 million 500 thousand items, which weighed approximately 20 tons in total, was reflected in investigation files. Accordingly, the mail, which was kept in sacks in the basement, was removed from there on April 14, 2024. It was alleged that the items were disposed of by “being sold to paper recyclers.”

DETAILS IN THE INSPECTION REPORT

The investigation report prepared by the PTT Guidance and Inspection Presidency, dated October 15, 2024, included details regarding the mass destruction of items that were not sent out for distribution. According to the report, it was determined that a group of distributors, who came to work on some Sundays as if they were going to perform distribution, took the mail out of the directorate building.

MAIL SOLD, SOME BURNED

The investigation report stated that a significant portion of the items taken out of the institution were sold to paper recyclers, while some were burned and destroyed piece by piece. It was noted that the items were completely destroyed without ever reaching their recipients.

PTT sources speaking to BirGün stated that distribution personnel have been working under a heavy workload for a long time. It was expressed that items referred to as “unregistered mail” among the public, which mostly consist of letters, were pushed to the background due to priority being given to registered and priority cargo.

“NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES DECREASED, WORKLOAD INCREASED”

The same sources stated that while the number of employees decreased, the workload increased, and they used the following expressions:

“They have brought one of the most valuable institutions of the Republic to a pathetic state. The pressure on postmen has been gradually increased. The number of employees has fallen, and the workload has grown. It is clear that the incident reported in Bursa has a commercial dimension, is not morally or ethically correct, and constitutes a crime. However, it is also known that such mail cannot be sent out for distribution in many cities due to the heavy workload of postmen.”