18.03.2026 10:34
In an operation carried out by gendarmerie teams on a vehicle in Sancaktepe, Istanbul, a total of 8,582 historical artifacts, believed to belong to the Byzantine, Roman, and Ottoman periods, were seized. One of the four individuals detained during the operation was arrested and sent to prison.
An operation was carried out against suspects identified for trafficking historical artifacts in Sancaktepe. Within the scope of the investigation initiated by the Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, 4 suspects identified for trafficking historical artifacts were detained in a joint operation conducted by the Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command's Smuggling and Organized Crime Combat Branch teams on a parked vehicle with the license plate 34 BDR 15 in Fatih Neighborhood. During the operation, Atilla Köleoğlu, Ali Köleoğlu, Adnan Karabüber, and Ali Sekmen, who were inside the vehicle, were caught red-handed.
8,582 HISTORICAL ARTIFACTS SEIZED IN THE OPERATION During the searches conducted by the teams in the vehicle, 8,582 historical artifacts were seized. The examinations revealed coins from the Byzantine, Middle Ages, European, Roman Empire, and Islamic periods, 44 bronze cast figures of deer, roe deer, and goat heads (1 of which is a dog), 25 bronze, iron, and copper alloy human figures, mini busts, soldier figures, and liturgical figures, 17 bronze, lead, and iron pendants, figure silhouettes, human-animal figures, 23 pendants, a finger fragment (piece of a statue), a cross necklace, various figures in liturgical and allegorical forms, 57 bronze and copper various animal figures, 118 pieces of silver, copper, and bronze semi-precious stone appliqued rings, some of which are broken, and 235 various types of colored, patterned, hole-centered stone and glass beads, with a group of baked clay blue glazed beads identified as strung on a thread (1 of the human figure forms was determined to be a plastic cast and made of newly produced material). In the preliminary expert report, it was determined that only one of the objects was a replica, while the remaining 8,581 pieces were archaeological and ethnographic artifacts that should be protected under Law No. 2863.
"I FOUND SOMETHING IN A SACK BY THE LAKE" The indictment prepared by the Istanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office included the statements of the suspects. Suspect Atilla Köleoğlu stated, "I found something in a sack by the lake. I didn't understand what it was. I took it home. I brought it to my son's house to understand what it was. Then I told my son. He said let's find out what these are. We agreed to have an expert tell us what these are. Yesterday we met near my son's house. Ali Sekmen and Adnan Karabüber came here. I do not know these people. At that moment, the gendarmes raided. I did not know these were historical artifacts. If I had known, I would have handed them over to the authorities. I do not accept the accusation against me. I brought it to my son's house to understand what it was; we were waiting for an expert," he said.
"MY REASON FOR BEING INVOLVED IN THIS IS CURIOSITY" Suspect Adnan Karabüber stated in his testimony at the prosecutor's office, "I know a person named Ali Sekmen because he is a mosque imam from Antalya. He has retired. As far as I know, he does construction work. I do not know the people named Ali and Atilla Köleoğlu. About 3 days ago, Ali Köleoğlu called me and said, 'Adnan brother, I have something, I don't know what to do, can you help me?' I did not ask him why he was calling me. I said let's take a look, and we agreed to meet yesterday. Yesterday, I was supposed to meet with Ali Sekmen to look at these items and return to Antalya. Ali does not know these things, does not understand; he is here solely because he knows me. At the agreed time, Atilla and Ali Köleoğlu, I, and Ali Sekmen went to a pastry shop in Sancaktepe. A person named Birol came. I invited Birol. My aim was for Birol to look at the items that Ali found. While Birol and Atilla were going to the car to look at the historical artifacts, the gendarmerie came and took us. My reason for being involved in this is curiosity. I do not engage in historical artifact trafficking. I do not accept the accusation against me. I request to be released," he stated.
"HE LEFT THESE ITEMS AT MY HOUSE WHEN I WAS NOT THERE" Suspect Ali Köleoğlu stated, "Atilla Köleoğlu is my father. I do not know the people named Adnan Karabüber and Ali Sekmen. I am an international truck driver. I just came this week. My father told me about a month ago that he went fishing and found coins and a ring in the fish. He left these items at my house when I was not there. Later, he said let's ask someone about these. Adnan Karabüber called me. He said we will meet tomorrow. I said okay. He asked me for a location. I sent him the location of a place close to my house. Then we met at the pastry shop there. Adnan, Ali, a person named Birol, and my father Atilla came to the pastry shop. When my father and Birol went to the car, the gendarmes came. My knowledge and experience are limited to this. I do not accept the accusation against me," he said.
"I HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF HISTORICAL ARTIFACTS OR SMUGGLING" Suspect Ali Sekmen stated, "I am a retired imam. I also do construction work. I do construction work in Akseki center in Antalya and various places in Antalya. I do not know the people named Atilla and Ali Köleoğlu. I have been looking for urban transformation work in Istanbul for about 10-12 days. During this time, I met with Adnan. He told me he would come from Antalya to Istanbul. Then he said we would return together when he finished the job. I accepted. Yesterday, I met with Adnan near the Marmaray station. He told me he had a job and would sit with someone. We met with the people named Atilla and Ali Köleoğlu, whose names I learned due to the incident. We went to a pastry shop. Then Atila and a person named Birol went to the car. They talked about something. I asked if we were going, and he said, 'we will go soon.' At that moment, the gendarmes came and caught us. I have no knowledge of historical artifacts or smuggling. I do not accept any of the accusations against me," he stated.
UP TO 5 YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT REQUESTED In the indictment prepared by the public prosecutor, it was emphasized that it is clear that 'commercial intent' was pursued, considering the quantity and nature of the seized objects.
The suspects face a prison sentence of 2 to 5 years for the crime of 'violation of cultural property trade'.