20.10.2026 11:20
In an Istanbul-based operation carried out in 14 provinces against illegal reproductive cell trafficking, in which women were selected through photographs from catalogs listing eye, skin, and hair colors, 42 suspects were detained. The investigation revealed that the female suspect, who rose from textile worker to organization leader, had arranged egg sales 811 times through 41 donors.
Shocking details have emerged in a massive operation centered in Istanbul and staged across 14 provinces against an organized criminal group engaged in illegal reproductive cell trafficking. In the investigation file, it was determined that potential customers selected donor women from photographs, and in a special catalogue created, all physical data of the women, from hair color to eye color, were recorded.
THEY CREATED A "DONOR CATALOGUE" BASED ON PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
According to the news on NTV; during examinations of the organized group leader's digital materials, a special catalogue prepared regarding the personal and physical characteristics of the women from whom egg cells were taken was seized. Since biologically the mother is the person whose egg cell is used, not the one who gives birth, it was determined that the organization archived the donor women's data in order to market it. It was established that details such as blood type, eye color, skin color and hair color were added to the catalogue and presented to customers, and special price tariffs were set according to these requested physical characteristics.
IT STARTED WITH A CİMER TIP-OFF, AN INTERNATIONAL NETWORK WAS EXPOSED
In the investigation launched by the Terror and Organized Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Istanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office upon a tip-off received through CİMER; an illegal trafficking network linked to Turkey, the TRNC, Albania and Georgia was detected. In examinations conducted through HTS and MASAK records, it was determined that Turkish citizen women were directed abroad and sold eggs in return for financial benefit. Within the scope of the investigation, it was established that 41 donor women carried out egg sales a total of 811 times, and each cell found buyers for between 60 and 80 euros.
FROM TEXTILE WORKER TO ORGANIZATION LEADER
The process behind the operation has also become clear. It was learned that Hacer T., considered to be the leader of the organization, worked as a textile worker until 2020 and first began donating through a friend. It was determined that the suspect, who over time learned the system and began receiving commissions by finding new girls, established a relationship with Muharrem Ş., who provided medicine supply, and took over the leadership of the organization. It was understood that the network, which made agreements with some doctors in Turkey and managed unregistered processes, established a structure that extended from donation to organization leadership within 6 years.
SIMULTANEOUS OPERATION IN 14 PROVINCES: 42 DETAINED
In simultaneous operations staged in 14 provinces centered in Istanbul; legal proceedings were carried out against a total of 53 suspects, including 1 organization leader, 5 organization managers, 41 donor women, 2 obstetrics and gynecology specialists and 4 travel organizers, and 42 suspects were detained. In his statement, Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek said, "We will not allow criminal structures that obtain unjust gain through the human body."