30.10.2026 13:37
In an operation against a criminal gang that was doing “change” on classic cars in Istanbul, Batman, Gaziantep, Izmir, Kocaeli and Sakarya, 61 classic cars seized were exhibited at the Istanbul Police Department. Provincial Police Chief Selami Yıldız said, 'We will resolutely continue the fight against crime in the service of our nation.' The moments of the operation and the seized vehicles were captured by drone cameras.
Under the coordination of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, a study was carried out by officers of the Auto Theft Bureau of the Istanbul Provincial Police Department's Public Order Branch Directorate regarding suspects operating in vehicle cloning.
In the study, it was determined that suspects operating across Istanbul and Izmir were cloning collector vehicles illegally brought from abroad by transferring their chassis numbers onto the chassis numbers of scrapped and cheaper vehicles registered under Turkish registration.
LEGAL APPEARANCE THROUGH AN ENGINEER'S REPORT
It was determined that the suspects submitted reports allegedly improperly prepared by engineers employed at the Presidency of the Chamber of Mechanical Engineers of Türkiye to the same notary offices, had registration certificates issued, and sought to legitimize the cloning process.
It emerged that the cloned vehicles were sold by the suspects to bona fide third parties and that the victims were defrauded. It was determined that the suspects cloned 61 vehicles using this method. The vehicles were seized and taken under protection.
SIMULTANEOUS OPERATION IN 6 PROVINCES
Within the scope of the investigation, an operation was conducted in Istanbul, Batman, Gaziantep, Izmir, Kocaeli, and Sakarya against suspects determined to be involved in the crimes of 'establishing and joining an organization for the purpose of committing crimes,' 'aggravated fraud,' 'forgery of official documents,' violation of Law No. 5607 on Combating Smuggling, and 'destroying, concealing, or altering criminal evidence.'
During the operation, 35 suspects were caught, and 97 cartridges were seized during a search at the home of 1 suspect.
"WE WILL DETERMINEDLY CONTINUE THE FIGHT AGAINST CRIME IN THE SERVICE OF OUR NATION"
Istanbul Police Chief Selami Yıldız, in a statement at the Istanbul Public Order Branch Directorate, noted that the fight against crime continues determinedly and said, "In the operation against the criminal network cloning classic cars, 37 suspects were detained and 61 cars were seized. I want to state this: let our people know well that no fraud will escape the attention of the Istanbul police. As the Istanbul Provincial Police Department, we will determinedly continue the fight against crime in the service of our nation."
SEIZED VEHICLES ON DRONE CAMERA
While the 61 classic cars seized in the operation were confiscated, some of the vehicles were displayed in the garden of the Public Order Branch Directorate. The displayed vehicles were viewed from the air by drone.