04.06.2026 17:00
In the Cesme district of Izmir, the statement given by the gunman caught in the armed attack that killed Can Polat was chilling. The gunman, Serhat Altun, confessed that the real target was Engin Polat and revealed that he pulled the trigger upon receiving an order from the gang leaders, who paid him 100,000 lira, saying, 'Don't come back empty-handed, shoot one of his relatives.'
The veil of mystery behind the murder of Can Polat in Cesme, Izmir, was lifted by the confessions of the captured hitman Serhat Altun.
THE REAL TARGET WAS ENGIN POLAT
In the statement given to the police by the 23-year-old suspect, who was caught red-handed in an operation in the Konak district of Izmir, the most critical detail of the murder came to light. It was learned that Altun, who stated that he contacted the organized crime group via social media, said that the real target was Engin Polat, but due to security reasons he could not carry out the act, so he received the instruction from the group leaders, "Don't come back empty-handed, shoot one of his relatives," and committed the murder on this order.
THEY FOUND THE LOCATION FROM SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS
It was stated that the process leading to the murder began when the Polat family's Cesme vacation, kept secret for security reasons, was exposed by Dilan Polat's instant shares on social media. It was noted that the organized crime group examined the background details and location information in the shared videos and identified the hotel where the family was staying in Alacati, second by second. It was determined that the hitman Serhat Altun, dispatched to Alacati on the order of the group leaders, conducted reconnaissance around the hotel for days before the murder. It emerged that the suspect, who sat in cafes around the luxury hotel like a normal customer to avoid attention and made purchases with his own credit card, reported the family's entry and exit times and waited for the moment when Can Polat was vulnerable.
"DON'T COME BACK EMPTY-HANDED, SHOOT ONE OF HIS RELATIVES"
In his interrogation at the police station, the hitman Serhat Altun described chilling details. It was reported that in his statement he said, "A person codenamed 'Orhan Keleş' from the gang made me carry out an operation in Konya and I received 100,000 TL. Then I went to Istanbul; they said my new target was Engin Polat. But I couldn't carry out the act due to security measures. After Dilan Polat posted a video from Cesme, I came to Izmir. I told the group leader that Engin Polat wasn't coming out. I was given the order 'Don't come back empty-handed, shoot one of his relatives.' So I shot Can Polat."
ENGIN POLAT: WE HAVE BEEN THREATENED FOR 2 YEARS
It was learned that Engin Polat, who narrowly escaped the attack and is a cousin of the deceased Can Polat, also gave a statement to the police. Engin Polat, who said that Can Polat worked as their driver and that they were in Cesme for vacation, reportedly stated that he had been threatened by the same crime group for about two years. Polat, who expressed that they did not receive any threats during their time in Cesme, noted that they constantly shared their location openly via social media during their stay at the hotel.
HE ALSO ACTED AS A HITMAN IN KONYA
Meanwhile, the crime tools left behind by the suspect, who was captured in a successful police operation, were also seized. One automatic weapon, three empty casings, 21 bullets loaded in the weapon, and the clothes the suspect wore at the time of the incident were found discarded in a bag at the edge of a field. Additionally, it was determined that the hitman Serhat Altun, acting on the same crime group's order, shot and wounded Ahmet Koçak, who lives in the Emirgazi district of Konya, through the window of his home in April. A wide-ranging investigation into the incident continues.