Courthouse Clerk "Fled with $3.5m of Gold and Silver"
December 08, 25
(IDEX Online) - Turkish police are hunting a clerk suspected of stealing gold and silver valued at $3.5m from a safe at the courthouse where he worked.
Erdal Timurtas, an evidence officer at the Buyukcekmece Courthouse in Istanbul, disappeared with his wife and two children on 19 November 2025 and is believed to have flown to the UK.
He was reportedly carrying roughly 25kg of gold and 50kg of silver that had been confiscated by officers, including historic coins from the Ottoman and Ataturk eras.
The theft was only discovered on 1 December during a routine inspection of the courthouse's evidence safes. Prosecutors found the vaults empty, triggering a full-scale investigation.
Security footage reportedly shows Timurtas wheeling the metals out of the courthouse in a cart used for transporting documents.
Before fleeing Turkiye, Timurtas is alleged to have sent messages via WhatsApp to friends saying: "I sold the goods, may God grant prosperity to your markets," suggesting the stolen items may have been sold abroad.
Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Timurtas and his wife. They have reportedly requested an Interpol red notice to locate them in the United Kingdom, where he is believed to have fled.
Pic shows police outside the courthouse.