Authorities have captured the last fugitive member of the team that carried out the failed assassination attempt on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the 2016 coup attempt, the Interior Ministry said on
Aug. 1.
The ministry said Burkay Karatepe, a former army captain and helicopter pilot dismissed from the military after the failed coup, was detained in the western province of Afyonkarahisar. He had been sought under an Interpol red notice for nearly a decade.
According to the ministry, Karatepe was the final fugitive among the 37-member team that targeted Erdoğan during the coup attempt, when soldiers linked to FETÖ attacked the hotel in the southwestern resort of Marmaris where the president had been staying. Erdoğan had reportedly left the hotel shortly before the assailants arrived.
Security officials said facial recognition technology helped identify Karatepe and that he was under surveillance before his arrest while allegedly preparing to flee abroad with a large amount of cash.
The ministry said he was wanted on charges including attempting to assassinate the president and killing a public official in the line of duty.
Police seized cash in Turkish lira and foreign currency, gold, fake identification documents, mobile phones, a laptop and digital materials during the operation, according to the ministry.
