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One more person has been taken into custody in Turkey over the killing of Halil Falyalı, a casino and hotel owner, and his driver Murat Demirtaş in Northern Cyprus. With the detention of another suspect in İstanbul, the number of detained as part of the investigation has increased to six.
While the related procedures of the six suspects were still going on as of February 13, the number of detained may reportedly increase.
CLICK - Accused of drug trafficking, casino tycoon Halil Falyalı assassinated in Northern Cyprus
Targeted in an armed attack in his vehicle in the Çatalköy Area in Kyrenia on February 8, 'betting and casino tycoon' Falyalı was severely wounded and taken to the Nicosia Dr. Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital. While driver Murat Demirtaş lost his life at the scene of the incident, Falyalı died at the Near East University Hospital, where he was referred to.
CLICK - Chief editor of Falyalı's newspaper threatens journalist
Sedat Peker videosSedat Peker, an exiled mob boss who released a series of video confessions in mid-2021, had described Falyalı as a key figure in cocaine trafficking between Colombia and Turkey. He had also been investigated by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Peker said in a video he released in May 2021. Falyalı had admitted the DEA investigation but denied involvement in any illegal business. Court cases against FalyalıIn 2010, Halil Falyalı stood trial and was put on remand on charge of "threat." Falyalı was later released. He was also remanded in custody in October on charges of "battery," "robbery" and "false imprisonment." According to the allegations, Falyalı forced an employee of his casino whom he accused of stealing money from the safe to sign a trust deed. The man was abducted and beaten. After an arrest warrant was issued against him, Falyalı and three people with him turned themselves in. He was initially put on remand for three days and it was later extended to 70 days. On October 20, newspapers in Northern Cyprus reported that Falyalı was hospitalized because of a heart condition. Falyalı and his three men were released in December after the plaintiffs withdrew the lawsuit. There was also an ongoing case against Falyalı in the US. 'Politicians protected him'Mustafa Akıncı, the former president of Northern Cyprus, said after Peker's claims that Falyalı was "protected" by his allied politicians, the ruling National Unity Party (UBP). "Everyone knows that he supports UBP with all his financial means in elections at all levels. It is also known that there are allegations that Halil Falyalı has connections with various dirty and illegal relations," Akıncı had said. BlackmailingAfter Falyalı's reported release to the hospital, journalist Erk Acarer claimed that he had a massive archive containing "inappropriate videos" of bureaucrats and politicians he used them to blackmail those people. Acarer said Northern Cyprus PM Ersan Saner was among them and he had seen a video of him. |
(RT/SD)
