A convicted criminal who had evaded the Turkish authorities for more than eight years has finally been caught in Istanbul after dramatically changing his appearance and allegedly living as a woman while using his sister’s identity.
Tuğrul Başar was detained in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district on Sunday, 6 September, following an operation by officers from the Istanbul Police Department’s Wanted Persons Bureau. He had been sought by police since 28 February 2018.
Başar had received finalised prison sentences over an offence committed in Samsun in 2010, described by Turkish media as theft carried out by falsely assuming an official capacity.
Police investigating Başar’s whereabouts discovered that the fugitive’s appearance had changed considerably during the years on the run.
The original Demirören News Agency (DHA) report said Başar had been routinely dressing as a woman to avoid detection and identity checks. Officers eventually traced Başar to Kadıköy and placed the fugitive under surveillance before making the arrest.
Other Turkish media claimed Başar's appearance was more than a disguise. Turkish daily Sözcü reported that police had established Başar had become a transgender woman during his years in hiding, while another daily, Güneş, went further reporting that Başar had undergone a gender change. However, these claims did not form part of the original DHA account, which described the change simply as a ‘female disguise’.
What is consistent across the reports is that police found Başar carrying an identity card belonging to the fugitive’s sister. Investigators believe the document had helped Başar evade detection for years.
Alongside the existing prison sentences, Turkish authorities have now started additional proceedings against Başar for allegedly “using another person’s identity information”.
Following his arrest, Başar was transferred to Kadıköy İskele Police Station, bringing an eight-year hunt to an end.
