Friday, 18 February, 2022.
More details have emerged about how casino boss Halil Falyalı and his driver Murat Demirtaş were ambushed by gunmen while they were driving away from home in Çatalköy on February 8, Yeniduzen reported.
According to Anadolu News Agency, the gunmen ambushed the vehicle being driven by Demirtaş with Falyalı as his passenger, by placing four vehicles at two different points.
It is understood that three gummen were waiting at a place where there were no security cameras surveying the road. Four pistol shots were fired and then Falyalı’s vehicle was sprayed with bullets from Kalashnikovs.
Police teams, who examined the security camera records in the surrounding area, determined that after the shooting, one of the attackers, Ömer Tunç, drove to a hotel and after getting out of the vehicle, he took off his gloves and threw them in the waste bin. The police, who seized the gloves, found traces of gunpowder on the gloves.
Fake IDs Used to Rent Shooters’ Vehicles
Meanwhile, the TRNC police obtained the identity image of the renters from the car rental company which rented the vehicles used in the attack. They shared the photo ID with Turkish police.
While examining a car left in the car park at Ercan Airport by one of the gunmen, which Mustafa Söylemez allegedly used after the attack before returning to Istanbul, another glove was found on the handbrake. An examination of the glove detected gunpowder residue. The glove was then sent to Turkey for DNA matching.
Two mobile phones were used before the attack and then the SIM cards were removed. However, one SIM was found on the first suspect to be arrested, Ömer Tunç.
Police Processing Six Detainees in Istanbul
In the meantime, police in Turkey are processing six people arrested in connection with the Çatalköy shootings, including Mustafa and Mehmet Faysal Söylemez. They are expected to appear in court on Monday.
Casino boss Halil Falyalı, who was attacked while he was in his car in Çatalköy, February 8, was seriously injured and died at the Near East University (NEU). Falyalı’s driver Murat Demirtaş, died at the scene of the shooting.
Searches made on 14 February at and around the scene of the armed attack found 2 Kalashnikov automatic guns, 4 magazines and 39 bullets and a 9 mm pistol, a magazine belonging to the gun and 13 bullets were found in the creek bed about one kilometre west of the crime scene. The ballistics report confirmed that the weapons in question were used in the attack.
