Istanbul police accused of planting drugs on Syrian youths and stealing their money

Six police officers in Esenyurt district of Istanbul have been accused of placing drugs in the car of two Syrian youths and exchanging their money with counterfeit bills, according to an indictment prepared by the Bakirkoy district prosecutor's office, Turkish Halk TV reported.

The indictment revealed that in March last year, police officers in Esenyurt stopped a car in which Muhammed Nadir Hamud and Maher El Salman were traveling.

According to police records, $3,456 and TL14,777 in cash, as well as drugs, were found in the car. The youths were taken into custody and brought to the police station.

However, they claimed that $9,156 and TL33,900 in cash belonging to their employer were also in the car, and that the drugs did not belong to them. They submitted evidence to the case file alleging that the police officers had stolen their money and planted the drugs in their car.

After the Syrians’ claim, the Bakirkoy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the incident. Hamud testified that he worked as a driver in a consulting firm, and on the day of the incident, he picked up El Salman, who worked as an accountant in the same company. They collected money from certain customers and when they had finished collecting from all the addresses, their vehicle was stopped by a police car.

Camera footage also showed Syrian youth collecting money from businesses before being stopped by police officers.

The officers allegedly planned to frame the youths by placing drugs in their car, with one officer's hand reportedly in a fist shape as he approached the vehicle. A witness who dined with the officers before the incident claims to have overheard them discussing whether the car was "full or empty." The officers are now facing charges of "embezzlement," "forgery of official documents," and "false accusation."

The trial is expected to shed light on the details of the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.