The Provincial Police Department Public Security Branch Office Morality Bureau teams launched a comprehensive study upon receiving reports of prostitution being carried out under the name of ‘beauty centers, physiotherapy and massage parlors’ operating in the city. The teams meticulously followed these businesses in different regions and carried out a 2-month technical inspection process.
As a result of technical surveillance, it was determined that the operators and employees of the ‘beauty center, physiotherapy and massage parlor’ were involved in a total of 33 separate prostitution incidents. It was determined that the suspects used coded expressions about prostitution in their phone calls and hosted their customers in private rooms.
Following this information, police forces pressed the button for an operation. In the operation called ‘Bypass’, 10 suspects were detained. Searches were conducted in the suspects’ businesses with permission from the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. As a result of the operation, administrative fines were imposed on the businesses where prostitution was taking place, and the businesses were sealed and closed.
Security camera footage reviewed by the police prior to the operation recorded the moment one of the three female suspects who arrived at a plaza fired a gun at the door of a beauty salon. This footage once again revealed the seriousness of the operation.
During the operation, police teams also began examining the suspects’ bank accounts. In the report from MASAK, the account movements of the 10 suspects identified were checked in detail. The teams conducted a comprehensive investigation into issues such as land registry offices, insurance records, bank account movements, company assets, income from games of chance, sea and air vehicles, and the existence of crypto assets.
In the investigations, it was assessed that 6 out of 10 people taken into custody were involved in money laundering. 3 apartments, 3 vehicles, 1 taxi plate and 13 bank accounts belonging to these 6 suspects, with a total of 10 million 700 thousand TL worth of movable and immovable properties were seized.
Of the 10 suspects referred to the courthouse, 7 were arrested on charges of “encouraging, facilitating or providing a place for prostitution”, while 3 were released on probation.
