Twelve years in prison for murder in Turkish restaurant
The judge has imposed a twelve-year prison sentence for a fatal shooting in a Turkish restaurant on the Mathenesserweg in Rotterdam in September 2014. This was reported by RTV Rijnmond on Wednesday. The court imposed a much lower sentence than was demanded, because it does not believe the murder was prepared.

Photo: Convicted Cengiz A.

Nine bullets
The 29-year-old Hamdi Bilir was shot dead in front of many people present. The judge in the verdict: 'The suspect fired nine bullets. The victim tried to defend himself with a newspaper rack in mortal fear, but nevertheless had no chance to escape the attack and died on the spot.'

The victim, terrified, tried to defend himself with a newspaper rack.

Shooter
According to the court, the 43-year-old Cengiz A. was the shooter. He was recognized by several witnesses and there were gunshot residues on his jacket. The man fled to Turkey. He is serving a fifteen-year sentence there for involvement in the murder of an Iranian journalist.

Co-suspect Ugur D. (30) said he was the shooter to the police, but the judge does not believe the man. Witnesses who were inside the Durum Evi eatery and outside, point to Cengiz A. as the shooter .

Lower penalty
The Public Prosecution Service demanded a 22-year prison sentence for murder in this case. The judge arrives at a much lower sentence because manslaughter is assumed. According to the judge, there is no clarity about the motive. The judge also thinks that if someone wants to commit murder, he will not do so in this way: 'It is not obvious to carry out that decision in a very busy restaurant where he often went, almost in full view and where he arrived and left on foot.'

The two suspects were not present at the hearing or at the verdict. Hamdi Bilir's relatives were disappointed with the severity of the sentence.

https://www.crimesite.nl/twaalf-jaar-cel-voor-moord-in-turks-eethuis/

Everyone is afraid of The Wheelchair Man
From the September 8, 2020 edition: On Sunday, June 17, 2014, more than two tons of heroin were seized in Athens. The seizure led to a large number of liquidations in Turkey, Canada and the Netherlands, including that of Ali Akgün in December of that year. The transport belonged to the king of kings of the heroin trade: Urfi C., better known as The Wheelchair Man. Turkish media call him 'the Pablo Escobar of Turkey'. A drug transport can always go wrong, but there was more going on here: infighting at the top of the largest heroin gang in the world.

February 20, 2024
'Turkish Godfather Involved in Hamburg's Cocaine Record'
A whole series of suspects have been arrested in various places in Turkey who are said to be part of the criminal organization of the Turkish "godfather" Ürfi Cetinkaya, who has been in prison since April last year , according to the Turkish police. The organization is said to have been involved in the transport of 13 tons of cocaine that was seized in Hamburg in 2021.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Turkish mafia posing hybrid threat
Report maps its activity in Greece, notes risk of it being used as a tool by secret services
Turkish mafia posing hybrid threat
[Goulielmos Antoniou/Intime News]
Yiannis Souliotis
16.09.2024 • 08:15

A confidential report authored by Greek security authorities charting the activity of the Turkish mafia in Greece has issued a stern warning about the risk of its being used as a tool by secret services. The multi-page report coincides with the recent arrest of armed Turkish mobsters in Greece on two separate occasions within the space of three days.

The authors of the report characterize the potential recruitment of criminal law offenders by espionage networks as an “escalating threat.” Among other things, the report notes that Greece risks becoming a sphere for settling scores between rival groups of organized crime in Turkey, as happened in the case of the six-person murder in September 2023 in Loutsa. However, it also stressed that Turkish criminal groups can be leveraged by “politically motivated actors and intelligence services to carry out covert operations, such as conducting hybrid operations.”

Organized crime has historically served as a lucrative target for secret services worldwide.

“This is an escalating threat,” says the report, stressing that Turkish criminal networks operating in the country can be “effectively instrumentalized by foreign state actors.”

From the analysis of incidents in Greece involving the Turkish mafia since September 2023, common characteristics emerge regarding the methodology employed. For example, when entering Greece illegally, they claim to be members of the Kurdish PKK or supporters of the Gulen network, in order to apply for asylum.

In some cases they state that they are facing trumped-up persecutions in Turkey. They lead a luxurious life using expensive vehicles, post their photos and videos on social networks, while for their accommodation they use properties rented through Airbnb – mainly in the center of Athens and East Attica – using fellow Turks residing in Greece, who have not concerned the prosecuting authorities, to complete the agreements.

“They are looking for synergies with Turks living in Greece or other countries of the European Union or the Western Balkans,” the secret report said. As well as the fact that the presence of Turkish criminals in the country of Kurdish origin entails the risk of developing connections and contacts with people from the anarchist-anti-authoritarian space, who usually participate in solidarity initiatives for persecuted Kurds.