A Chinese businessman who had been reported missing in İstanbul was found dead and buried in a field in the city’s Arnavutköy district, the IHA news agency reported on Monday.
According to IHA, a missing persons report was filed on January 24 by the lawyer of 38-year-old Chinese national Yong Wang at the Bakırköy Police Department.
Police launched an investigation and examined GPS data from Wang’s vehicle. The signal showed the car was last located in a field in the Baklalı neighborhood of Arnavutköy on İstanbul’s European side. Search teams were dispatched to the area, where they discovered Wang’s body buried in the field. His hands, feet and mouth were bound with tape.
Police investigators believe Wang was killed in an apparent robbery. A large-scale investigation was launched under the instructions of the Gaziosmanpaşa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
As the investigation expanded, authorities learned that several suspects had traveled to İstanbul from China, alleging that Wang had defrauded them, the DHA news agency reported.
Investigators said the suspects obtained his location through a woman who knew him. Wang was allegedly struck on the head with a blunt object. The assailants fled after taking a cold wallet he was carrying believed to contain cryptocurrency assets.
As part of the investigation, 10 suspects — nine men and one woman — were identified. An international arrest warrant was issued through INTERPOL, and the suspects were subsequently detained in China, according to the information shared by officials. Further legal procedures are ongoing in coordination with Chinese authorities.
Drone footage from the scene showed excavation marks in the middle of the field and forensic teams conducting their work at the site.