Vehicle trading crisis: 160 people victimized overnight
Approximately 160 people have been victimized in Kocaeli after a business operating in the installment-based vehicle trade failed to pay its promissory notes and disappeared. Following complaints from victims who alleged they were defrauded, an operation was launched, resulting in the arrest of 4 suspects, 1 of whom has been jailed.
İHA
A company named ETA Oto Grup, operating in the Darıca district, has victimized dozens of people through installment-based vehicle trading. According to allegations, the company officials disappeared after emptying the shop shortly after purchasing vehicles in exchange for down payments and post-dated promissory notes.
Vehicle owners, claiming they were defrauded, went to the Gebze Courthouse and filed a complaint against the officials for "qualified fraud."
The victims alleged that the company built trust over a long period by conducting buy-sell transactions to attract customers, and then collected the money to pull off a major heist in a single night.
1 of 4 suspects arrested
Within the scope of the investigation launched by the Public Security Branch Fraud Bureau under the coordination of the Gebze Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the incident in which 160 people were victimized, an operation was carried out in Kocaeli and Balıkesir. As part of the operation, 3 suspects connected to the company in question were caught and detained in Kocaeli, and 1 suspect was detained in Balıkesir. During searches of the suspects' homes, an unlicensed pistol and 30 cartridges were seized. Of the 4 suspects referred to the Gebze Courthouse, 1 was arrested and sent to prison, while 3 suspects were released under judicial control conditions.