Turkish fugitive caught eight years after disguising himself as woman

After conventional efforts to locate him based on his appearance repeatedly failed, authorities changed their approach and began investigating his lifestyle, movements and other personal details rather than relying solely on his physical appearance. Reports said Bashar went further than simply altering his appearance.

While living in hiding, he adopted a female appearance and allegedly used his sister’s official identity card while travelling around Istanbul. He reportedly presented the document at police checkpoints as his own identification. His elaborate attempt to remain undetected began to unravel when investigators noticed purchases made using his sister’s credit cards.

Since she was reportedly outside the country at the time, the transactions raised suspicions and prompted authorities to investigate further. Police surveillance eventually led investigators to an address in Istanbul’s Kadikoy district, where they carried out a raid and located the fugitive.

This time, his disguise and use of his sister’s identity were not enough to conceal his identity. Police obtained his fingerprints and compared them with their records, confirming that the person in custody was Bashar, who had been wanted since 2018.

The fingerprint match finally brought an eight-year manhunt to an end, closing an unusual case in which authorities had been unable to identify the fugitive despite his years of disguise and use of another person’s identity.