Escape plan in Seyhan jeweler murder: Suspect was to be smuggled to Greece by jet ski

Osman Altun, 22, who killed jeweler Zahir Cız (66) on October 4 at 2:00 p.m. in the Reşatbey neighborhood of Seyhan district, was set to be spirited out of the country by a criminal organization using a jet ski, investigators determined.

Under the escape scenario pieced together during the investigation, Altun was to be ferried by jet ski to a vessel waiting offshore in the Aegean Sea and from there transferred to Greece. In an operation led by the Homicide Bureau of the Adana Police Department's Public Order Branch, 10 suspects connected to the murder were arrested.

The investigation revealed that the criminal organization known as 'Bayğaralar' was behind the killing. The group is alleged to have recruited Altun — who already had a criminal record — by promising him safe passage abroad in exchange for carrying out the murder.

Security camera footage confirmed that the suspect had conducted reconnaissance in the area on the day of the murder and had been surveilling jeweler Cız. It also emerged that Cız had stationed an armored vehicle in front of the apartment building where he was later killed and had not left the building for some time — suggesting he had sensed the threat, yet could not escape it.

Hüseyin Altunbulduk (39), who was sitting beside Cız at the time, was seriously wounded after being shot in the abdomen; he remains under medical care. Altun had previously been arrested on charges of intentional injury, theft, and property damage, and had been released on supervised probation shortly before the attack.