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Gendarmerie teams in Ankara seized 13 handwritten Hebrew books believed to date back to the 17th and 18th centuries, detaining four suspects in an alleged heritage-smuggling attempt.
Acting on intelligence, officers from the Provincial Gendarmerie Command’s Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Branch and the Yenimahalle District Gendarmerie intercepted a car in the Ata neighborhood, where they discovered the volumes. The books, linked to both Christian and Jewish traditions, were given a preliminary market value of around $6 million.
Following a tip-off that cultural property would be trafficked, units coordinated a stop of a vehicle carrying four suspects identified by initials as F.A., M.S., S.Y., and F.K.
Officers carried out a search and logged 13 Hebrew manuscripts as evidence. The suspects were taken into custody, and their processing at the gendarmerie continued.
Authorities said the books—assessed as historical artifacts from the 17th–18th centuries—will undergo expert analysis to determine origin, age, and cultural context.
The review was described as ongoing, with results to be shared by competent offices once completed.
Specialists contacted by Türkiye Today pointed to a high probability that the items could be counterfeit, noting that sellers often “pass off fakes as genuine.”
They also stressed that authentic 17th–18th century Hebrew manuscripts are difficult to source, which increases the risk that forged books enter the market and get priced as rare originals.
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