05.02.2026 23:04
The Ministry of Trade announced that, as part of an investigation regarding vehicles that entered the country by presenting fake retirement certificates at the Sarp Customs Gate, 65 luxury cars worth 600 million lira have been seized, and 22 suspects, including 18 public officials, have been detained.
The Ministry of Trade seized 65 luxury vehicles worth 600 million lira in an operation carried out at the Sarp Customs Gate, and a total of 22 suspects, including 18 public officials, were detained. Details regarding irregular entries made using fake retirement documents were shared within the scope of the investigation.
65 LUXURY VEHICLES SEIZED AT CUSTOMS
In a statement made by the ministry, the following was stated: "In an operation carried out by the teams of the Sarp Customs Enforcement Smuggling and Intelligence Directorate, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Trade, as a result of meticulous risk analysis studies conducted primarily in the provinces of Artvin, Istanbul, and Antalya, 65 luxury vehicles worth 600 million TL were seized.
22 SUSPECTS DETAINED
As a result of investigations initiated regarding vehicles that completed entry procedures into the country by presenting fake retirement documents at the Sarp Customs Gate, and conducted through 18 months of technical and physical surveillance; in an operation jointly carried out by the Kemalpaşa District Gendarmerie Command and the Sarp Customs Enforcement Smuggling and Intelligence Directorate, 22 suspects, including 18 public officials, involved in the irregularities related to the entry procedures of the mentioned vehicles were detained under the 'Law on the Fight Against Smuggling' numbered 5607 and the 'bribery' offenses regulated in the Turkish Penal Code numbered 5237."
It was stated that the Customs Enforcement Organization continues its fight against smuggling uncompromisingly, and it was noted that "The investigation related to the incident is ongoing at the Hopa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office."