Business owner issues statement regarding missing gold bars: Our personnel's health comes before everything

The accident occurred on January 20 at approximately 23:30 on the Istanbul-Izmir highway in the Karacabey section. E.Ö. (21), R.T. (30), and V.T. (48) set off in an armored vehicle to transport gold bars they had collected from a workshop in the Kestel district to jewelers in surrounding provinces. The armored vehicle, driven by E.Ö., allegedly lost control after a tire blew out. The vehicle veered to the side of the road and overturned. The driver and the two people with him were injured in the accident. Upon notification, gendarmerie and medical teams were dispatched to the scene. The injured were taken to hospitals by ambulance after receiving initial treatment.

THREE OF THE BARS FOUND

Following the accident, an inspection of the armored vehicle revealed that 11 of the gold bars being transported were missing. Gendarmerie teams launched a large-scale search in the area. While searches were conducted with detectors along the roadside and in the surrounding area, it was reported that company officials also requested assistance from jewelers by sharing the serial numbers of the missing gold. Some time after the incident, 3 of the missing gold bars were found by gendarmerie teams during a search inside the vehicle.

"THERE IS NO SABOTAGE, INTENT, OR MALICE"

While search efforts for the remaining 8 gold bars continue, business owner Fatih Ö. issued a written statement regarding the incident and the allegations that have emerged. Fatih Ö. included the following statements in his announcement:

“This statement has been made to inform the public accurately regarding the traffic accident involving our armored vehicle carrying precious metals on the night of January 20, 2025, on the Izmir-Istanbul highway in the Karacabey district of Bursa.

There is no sabotage, intent, or malice involved in the incident. Our personnel serving in the vehicle involved in the accident are all reliable and experienced colleagues within our own organization. The health and safety of our personnel come before everything else for our company. Our greatest consolation is that our personnel on duty in this tragic accident survived with minor injuries.

Checks made after the accident revealed that some of the 11 one-kilogram gold bars transported in the vehicle were located in different parts of the vehicle's interior due to the impact of the crash. Search efforts for the bars considered missing are continuing meticulously in coordination with security forces, both inside the wrecked vehicle and at the scene of the incident. We are fully confident that these bars will also be found. The process is being carried out transparently and in a controlled manner in cooperation with all relevant institutions, and developments will be shared with the public."

The investigation into the incident by the Karacabey Chief Public Prosecutor's Office is ongoing.