07.02.2026 16:04
Mustafa Palanca, a disabled man living in Sakarya, was defrauded of a total of 189,000 TL by individuals who posed as Venezuelan women on social media under the pretext of "cargo and bribery." Palanca, who had to take out a loan, stated that he has been repaying the debt for 8 months and that all of his disability and retirement pension has gone towards these loans, and he has filed a complaint.
Mustafa Palanca (53), who opened a fake female profile on social media in Sakarya and chatted with a person claiming to be Venezuelan, was defrauded of 189,000 TL. Palanca said, "I have been paying off loans for 8 months now. This time I am in danger of starvation. All my disability and retirement salary goes to these loans."
ACCEPTED THE OFFER
Mustafa Palanca, a disabled person living in the Ferizli district, started chatting on social media on May 26 last year with a person claiming to be Venezuelan and named Noraini Zahari. The person, who introduced herself as a woman, said she lived in London, would come to Turkey, wanted to meet, and would send some valuable items and a large amount of money to him beforehand. Palanca accepted the offer.
REQUESTED 40,000 TL
After a while, a person identifying himself as a courier named E.O. called Palanca, saying he had received packages sent by Zahari, was on his way from Istanbul, and would bring them to Sakarya, requesting 40,000 TL. Mustafa Palanca sent the 40,000 TL. E.O. later stated that he was caught by the police while bringing the items, that there was 500,000 dollars in the packages, and that the police would seize this money as 'dirty money.'
DID EVERYTHING HE WANTED
E.O. stated that the police demanded a bribe of 150,000 TL in exchange for releasing him and the packages, and asked Palanca to send the money. Mustafa Palanca went to the bank, took out a loan, and used his overdraft to send another 149,000 TL. When E.O. said the police wanted another 500,000 TL, Palanca realized he had been defrauded and went to the gendarmerie to file a complaint. The gendarmerie launched an investigation into the incident after the complaint.
"I HAVE BEEN PAYING LOANS FOR 8 MONTHS"
Mustafa Palanca recounted the events as follows: "I met a woman named Noraini Zahari on social media. Then I continued messaging her on WhatsApp. She said she lived in London. She said she was an engineer. She said she found a job in Indonesia and that we would meet in Istanbul after her return from Indonesia. She said she would send the cargo and documents before going to Indonesia. She sent her photos. She said she also included gifts. I said I couldn't pay for this cargo, I have no money. She said, 'I put that fee inside the cargo.' I paid 40,000 TL to the courier as cargo fees. Then that courier wrote a message. He said, 'I am bringing your cargo from Istanbul to Sakarya.' About 15-20 minutes later, he said, 'The police caught me.' He said, 'There is something in those cargos.' He said, 'It also falls under money laundering.' He said, 'There is 500,000 dollars in the car.' He said, 'They are not letting me go. I have children.' He said, 'You give a bribe to these police, save me.' He said, 'The police want 200,000 TL.' He said, 'Find it from neighbors, friends, I will convince the police.' He said, 'I negotiated with the police, they brought it down to 150,000 TL.' He said, 'They will put me inside, save me.' So I took a loan from the bank. I applied for a 100,000 TL loan. I also used 49,000 TL from my overdraft. I sent it to the accounts of those I thought were police. A few hours after the incident, I realized I had been defrauded. I have been paying loans for 8 months now. This time I am in danger of starvation. All my disability and retirement salary goes to these loans."