Jewelry store heist in Büyükçekmece: Vanished with millions

It is claimed that a jeweler operating in the Celaliye neighborhood of Istanbul's Büyükçekmece district collected millions of liras from local residents with promises of "investing gold" and "taking money and delivering gold later." It was learned that the individual, who had only recently begun operating as a tradesman in the neighborhood, closed the shop overnight and disappeared.

According to the allegations, many citizens who had previously done business with the jeweler were unable to receive the promised gold after handing over their money. While some victims have applied to the police and the prosecutor's office, it is stated that a group of citizens has refrained from filing a complaint in the hope that the individual "might return."

Ercan Tiryaki, who says he is a victim, described what he experienced as follows:

“I came here on Tuesday evening and said I needed gram gold. He said, ‘Okay, brother.’ I gave him the money, and he wrote a note on a piece of paper saying, ‘I will give you 3 gram gold, I don't have it right now.’ It has been two weeks. There are a lot of people here; there are nearly 10 victims. I don't know the total amount of money.”

Erdal Döngel, a local tradesman, stated that he did not know the jeweler and said the following:

“He defrauded the market and left. He was open for maybe a month, maybe not even that, and then he disappeared. His customers come and ask. For example, one citizen came to buy 1 million worth of gold, paid cash, but could not get the gold.”

The investigation into the incident is ongoing.