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A truck driver trying to smuggle 7,550 historical coins and figurines out of Türkiye was caught at Cesme Ulusoy Port after customs officers flagged unusual density inside the vehicle during routine checks.
Authorities said the suspect, identified as A.T. (32), had hidden the items in a specially built compartment in the driver’s cabin, intending to transport them to Italy.
The incident took place last month at Port Cesme Ulusoy in Izmir, where around 280 trucks were being inspected before boarding a Ro-Ro (roll-on/roll-off) vessel bound for the Italian port of Trieste.
During inspections, customs enforcement officers noticed what they described as suspicious behavior from the driver. This prompted them to run the truck through an X-ray scanning system, which revealed an unusual density in the cabin area.
Following this, the vehicle was taken to a search hangar for a more detailed inspection. Officers then uncovered a concealed compartment behind the bed, created using plastic extensions. Inside, they found 15 packages containing a total of 7,550 coins and figurines.
The seized artifacts were handed over to the Cesme Museum Directorate for examination, while the driver was arrested.
In his initial statement, the suspect reportedly said he had come across the items by chance about two years ago while working as an excavator operator. He claimed that objects got caught in his machine during a digging operation, and he later realized they were historical artifacts.
According to his account, he kept the items hidden out of fear and did not report them to authorities. He later took up a job as a truck driver in an international logistics company and eventually decided to smuggle the artifacts abroad by building a secret compartment in his vehicle.
The investigation, led by the Cesme Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, is ongoing. Authorities are now looking into whether the suspect may have been linked to others, both within Türkiye and internationally.
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