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Authorities have launched a criminal investigation after 25 kilograms of gold and 55 kilograms of silver disappeared from a judicial evidence storage facility at Buyukcekmece Courthouse in Istanbul with one suspect allegedly fleeing the country and another in custody.
Officials discovered the missing precious metals valued at an estimated 147 million Turkish lira ($3.4 million) when they opened the evidence unit's safes following concerns about an employee's prolonged absence from work, according to Turkish media reports.
Court clerk E.T., who worked in the evidence office, had not reported to work for an extended period, prompting a prosecutor handling related case files to order an inspection of the storage facility. The inventory check revealed significant quantities of gold jewelry, bullion and silver had vanished from the secure storage area.
E.T. fled Türkiye through Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen Airport on Nov. 19, traveling to London with his wife and children, investigators determined. Authorities have issued arrest warrants for E.T. and are pursuing extradition proceedings.
Police detained K.D., a civil servant who had been serving temporarily in the evidence unit during the investigation. K.D. was working in an acting capacity after the unit director took family medical leave to care for his father during cancer treatment.
Investigators questioned all personnel in the evidence office, including the director of clerical affairs, and conducted searches of employees' residences. Prosecutors requested phone location records for the suspects and ordered security camera footage from the courthouse to be reviewed.
In his statement to investigators, K.D. defended himself by noting the evidence unit had numerous service workers entering and exiting the facility. He argued that examining security camera recordings would reveal what actually occurred, according to the suspect's testimony.
Judicial evidence storage facilities typically house items seized during criminal investigations, including valuables confiscated in fraud cases, smuggling operations and other prosecutions. The materials remain under court custody until cases conclude and ownership disputes are resolved.
The stolen items comprised an extensive collection of gold jewelry and bullion, including 9,906 grams of loose gold, 438 gold necklaces, 606 gold bracelets, and five one-kilogram gold bars. The theft also included 49 Resat gold coins, 167 full gold coins, 376 half gold coins, 1,328 quarter gold coins, and 487 Ata gold coins, along with 50 kilograms of silver.
Authorities continue investigating whether additional personnel may have been involved in the theft and how the precious metals were removed from the secured evidence facility without detection.
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