A police officer in the northwestern Turkish province of Kocaeli has been arrested after it was discovered that he was selling the gasoline for his patrol car, the Demirören news agency reported on Monday.
The police officer, identified only by his initials İ.K., his son, A.K., and brother-in-law M.T. were all monitored by the Kocaeli police for some time after they were informed about his misuse of government property.
Following an investigation, the police found out that İ.K. frequently went to the car wash owned by his son and brother-in-law in the patrol car, which had a civilian license plate, and emptying its gasoline there for it to be sold by his son and brother-in-law.
İ.K., his son and brother-in-law were detained in simultaneous operations. After appearing in court, İ.K. was jailed on charges of embezzlement while his son and brother-in-law were released on probation.
Following the eruption of two massive corruption scandals in late 2013 in which then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s close circle was implicated, the police officers who uncovered the corruption were jailed. The Turkish government also removed thousands of police officers from their posts claiming that they had ties to the Gülen movement, which is accused by the Turkish government of masterminding a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. The movement strongly denies any involvement.
Many say the government recruited its loyalists to the police force, disregarding whether they have the necessary education and competence.