One person was injured in an armed attack outside the villa of notorious Turkish mafia boss Sedat Peker in İstanbul’s Beykoz district, local media reported Wednesday.
Peker, the head of one of Turkey’s most powerful mafia groups and once a staunch supporter of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, left Turkey following the publication of a report related to arms trafficking to Syria that was allegedly carried out under the guise of humanitarian aid.
Istanbul: video footage of attack outside the house of Sedat Peker, the fugitive mafioso-cum-whistleblower. pic.twitter.com/Hk0AuqmaCJ
— Piotr Zalewski (@p_zalewski) September 14, 2022
Yılmaz Günay was hit by three bullets in the attack and is currently in intensive care, the KRT TV news website reported.
According to a report by Halk TV, two vehicles came to the front of the house. While one waited at a distance, the window of the car that came closer opened.
According to the Halk TV report, six people working in shifts of three each were staying at the house for security purposes with Peker’s consent.
One person shot from inside the vehicle when the staff approached him. Three bullets hit Günay, who was seriously injured and taken to Beykoz State Hospital.
Ö.Ş., who had rented the car and was in it during the attack, was arrested with the gun he had used, Halk TV said.
According to the security authorities, Ö.Ş. had many photos taken with Peker, suggesting that the incident could have been an “internal organizational showdown.”
Peker consultant Emre Olur rejected the claims and said Peker was aware of threats made against him and his loved ones.
Following the attack, Erk Acarer, a dissident journalist and columnist for the Birgün daily who is living in exile in Germany, claimed in a series of tweets that a bounty had been placed on Peker’s head and that whoever succeeded in eliminating him would receive $25 million.
1-Sedat Peker'in Beykoz'daki evine silahlı saldırıda görevli Yılmaz Günay'a üç kurşun isabet ediyor. Edindiğim bilgiye göre Peker’e suikasta önce 5 milyon Dolarla ihale veriliyor. Ancak bu başarılı olamıyor. İhalenin önerildiği bazı mafya grupları da bunu kabul etmiyor.
— Erk Acarer (@eacarer) September 14, 2022
Acarer did not specify who had posted the bounty but said the original amount was $5 million, but that was not enough for the targeted mafia groups to kill Peker.
Peker’s villa in İstanbul’s Beykoz district was recently transferred to the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, but appears to still be managed by Peker’s crew, as legal action has been taken against the decision.
The mob boss, who lives in exile in the UAE, sent shockwaves across the country in the summer of 2021 through scandalous revelations he made on social media about state-mafia relations, drug trafficking and murders implicating former and current state officials and their family members.
Peker, who was silent for a long time out of concern for his safety, has recently become active on social media again, making shocking claims about some pro-government figures.