Story By: Feza Uzay, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
Two men have been arrested for drugging a British tourist with sleeping pills before stealing his credit card to buy thousands of pounds of gold.
The golden robbery took place when two men approached the British tourist, identified only as A. E., who was on holiday in the Turkish province of Antalya, under the pretext of asking for directions.
The incident happened on Tuesday, 8th February at around 4.30pm, but it only emerged in Turkish media on Thursday, 24th February.
After having a quick chat on the street, they decided to have a deeper conversation and went to a restaurant to have a drink together.
In the first video, A. E. and one of the suspects are seen having drinks while having a conversation.
A. E., who was allegedly given sleeping pills by the suspects in the restaurant, came to his senses after a while and realised that he did not have his credit card or his phone anymore, so he went to the police.
The Muratpasa District Police Department teams determined from the security camera footage of the restaurant that the suspects were Tunisian citizen Mokhles Kouakbi and Syrian citizen Huseyin Hasan.
Kouakbi and Hasan were detained in an operation launched by the police in the district of Fethiye.
In his statement at the police station, Mokhles Kouakbi reportedly admitted that he and his partner in crime, Huseyin Hasan, had bought TRY 135,000 (GBP 7,168) worth of gold from several jewellers using the victim’s credit card.
In the second video, the suspects are seen in several jewellers, buying gold, allegedly with the victim’s credit card.
The suspects, who were referred to a courthouse, were arrested. It was revealed that the suspects had previously committed fraud using the same method in various provinces, especially in Turkey’s largest city and a major tourist destination, Istanbul.
The investigation is ongoing.