07.02.2025 13:50
The investigation revealed that Serdar Arslan, known in his community as 'Oflu Mert', who went missing 16 days ago in Kocaeli, was killed by his business partner and his brother over a debt issue. The body of Serdar Arslan, who was shot to death, was found in the forest, buried with lime poured over it.
On January 20, 2025, G.K., who applied to the gendarmerie in Kocaeli Başiskele, reported that his religiously married wife, Serdar Arslan, had gone missing and filed a missing person report. While the gendarmerie teams initiated an investigation into the incident, the course of the investigation changed after the suspect's car, which he used to leave his home, was found abandoned with its doors open in Ümraniye.
SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE CLARIFIED THE INCIDENT
In the investigation conducted by the Missing Persons Bureau in Istanbul, it was determined that the car was brought to Kocaeli, Başiskele, by another person. Teams examining the security camera footage found that the person who brought the car to Istanbul took a taxi to Kavacık after abandoning the vehicle in Ümraniye, and then got into another car waiting for him to go to Sefaköy. Police teams identified the person using the car as Mahsun Ö., who was found to be the brother of Habil Ö., Serdar Arslan's business partner with whom he operated a fish restaurant. It was revealed that the two partners had been in conflict over debts for some time.
7 SUSPECTS DETAINED
After gathering this information, the Missing Persons Bureau teams launched an operation. The police simultaneously raided 7 addresses, including 4 in Istanbul and 3 in Kocaeli, four days ago. During the raid, they detained 7 suspects, including Habil Ö., his brother Mahsun Ö., and a relative named Sevban T., one of whom was a woman.
KILLER CONFESSED TO THE MURDER
Among the suspects brought to the Istanbul Public Security Branch, Mahsun Ö. confessed to committing the murder and detailed the planning and escape stages. He explained that on January 19, 2025, his brother Habil Ö. called him for a meeting, stating, "Our relative Sevban T. was also there. My brother told me that Serdar wanted to kill him and that we should act first. He said, 'You need to commit the murder. If I kill him, you won't be able to take care of us, but while you are killing him, I can take care of you and your family.' We planned the murder together."
"HE HAD HIS BACK TURNED TO ME, I EMPTIED A MAGAZINE"
On the day of the incident, Mahsun Ö. recounted that according to their plan, his brother called Serdar Arslan to his villa in Başiskele. "I was waiting near the villa. After Serdar went inside, I followed him in. He had his back turned to me. I took out my gun and fired until the magazine was empty. He fell to the ground in a pool of blood," he stated.
THEY BURIED THE BODY TWICE
Mahsun Ö. explained that on the day of the incident, they decided to bury the body near the villa but, after struggling for a while, they could not bury it completely and left it covered with leaves. "A few days later, my brother wanted us to bury the body again. So, we took some lime with us and went back to the villa in a friend's car. My brother and our relative Sevban T. were with me. We wrapped the body in a blanket, took it from where it was, and put it in the car. After driving about 2 kilometers, we took it out of the vehicle and buried it again. We poured lime on it so that wild animals wouldn't dig it up," he said.
THE SUSPECT FREQUENTLY VISITED CONDOLENCES BEFORE BEING CAUGHT
Additionally, it was learned that Habil Ö., who was detained on the charge of instigating his brother, visited and called Serdar Arslan's religiously married wife to offer condolences. The suspect allegedly said to change the direction of the investigation, "They must have killed him in Istanbul. I know he had enemies there. He got involved in something serious, and they eliminated him there." The suspects, whose procedures were completed at the Istanbul Public Security Branch, were sent to the Kocaeli Courthouse.