Ömer Lütfü Topal, sometimes spelled Lütfi (1942 – July 28, 1996), was a Turkish businessman, who was deeply involved in the

Susurluk scandal The Susurluk scandal () was a scandal involving the close relationship among the deep state in Turkey, the Grey Wolves and the Turkish mafia. It took place during the peak of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict, in the mid-1990s. The relationshi ...

. He had convictions for drug smuggling, and was dubbed the "casino king" for the gambling ventures that made his later fortune, which amounted to around $1 billion at the time of his assassination.

Background

He was born in Doğanşehir, Malatya Province to Mahmut Topal.

Life

He has a criminal record at the İstanbul Police for the years 1962, 1969 and 1971 for threatening people and forcing them to sign debt bills, stabbing, injury, beating and murder.

Drug smuggling

According to

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

newspapers, he was arrested on June 20, 1978, in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

province of Belgium while carrying 6 kilos of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

. A fake passport was found on him on the name of Sadık Sami Onar, issued by the

Gaziantep Gaziantep (), previously and still informally called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, approximat ...

Police. Besides, he was accused of drug transfer to the United States over Belgium. He was imprisoned in Belgium between June 14, 1978, and July 23, 1981. Then, he was extradited to the US in order to serve a sentence passed on him for heroin trafficking. He was prosecuted in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and sentenced to five years in prison. His name was mentioned in testimonies of persons, who had been apprehended between January 13 and February 20, 1981, in the Netherlands with vast amounts of heroin. Topal was captured by officers of the Istanbul Narcotics Branch on May 5, 1989, in connection with the aforementioned incident, but released by the İstanbul SSC Prosecution Office.

Casino empire

At the time of his death Topal owned casinos scattered throughout the country,oversaw an illicit enterprise that involved 450 people, and had 200 famous customers. According to his tax statement, he registered a loss of 6 billion Turkish Lira in 1993 ($546,493), however an investigation revealed that he had actually made a profit of 473 billion lira ($39m). An extensive 1999 study by the Ministry of Finance contained the following facts on Topal: * He shot from rags to riches in just five years; in 1991 he owned but a cafeteria. * He had withdrawn 4.1 trillion Lira from gamblers' credit cards. * In sum, 14.5 trillion TL, US$98 million, and 23 million DM were deposited into his 137 bank accounts. * A significant number of his 452 properties were acquired as payment for gambling debts. * A significant source of gambling revenue was poker, raising ~$750m between 1994 and 1996. Topal was also accorded lengthy coverage in the Inspection Board report. Its author, Kutlu Savaş, wrote that Topal would have become a

drug lord A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin or narcotrafficker is a high-ranking crime boss who controls a sizable network of people involved in the illegal drug trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they are normally not directly ...

that posed a threat to the government if unstopped. In 1995, he made certain attempts to take over the management of some hotels and casinos in

Ashgabat Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

. According to some information, he had dealt with drugs at the Emperyal Casino he owned in Istanbul, and that he had bribed certain members of the security organization in foreign currency.

Death

Topal was gunned down on July 28, 1996, with a Kalashnikov rifle. Some say this was the beginning of the

Abdullah Çatlı Abdullah Çatlı (1 June 1956 – 3 November 1996) was a Turkish secret government agent, as well as a contract killer for the National Intelligence Organization (MİT). He led the Grey Wolves, the youth branch of the Nationalist Movement Party ...

's fingerprint was allegedly found on the drum of one of the machine guns used.

Ayhan Çarkın Ayhan Çarkın (born 1962, Erzurum) is a Turkish policeman who is reported to have played a controversial role in the Susurluk scandal. The leader of the Special Operations Department ( tr, Özel Harekât Dairesi), İbrahim Şahin, said Çark� ...

and two other policemen were acquitted for lack of evidence; in 2008 the trial judge claimed this was due to a sabotage of the investigation. He left behind 100 trillion lira (on the order of a billion USD). Twenty two of his companies were passed onto his son Murat Topal, daughter Elif Topal, and first wife Safiye Belli. His second wife, Birsu Hilal Altıntaş, inherited a few cars, companies, and properties too. After his death, his casinos were run by Ömer Gultekin.

Footnotes

References

* (contains the Susurluk reports, and material on the

Counter-Guerrilla Counter-Guerrilla ( tr, Kontrgerilla) is the Turkish branch of Operation Gladio, a clandestine stay-behind anti-communist initiative backed by the United States as an expression of the Truman Doctrine. The founding goal of the operation was to ere ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Topal, Omer Lutfu 1942 births 1996 deaths People from Doğanşehir 20th-century Turkish businesspeople Turkish drug traffickers Turkish money launderers Assassinated Turkish businesspeople Businesspeople in the casino industry Turkish people imprisoned abroad Prisoners and detainees of Belgium People extradited from Belgium People extradited to the United States People murdered in Turkey Deaths by firearm in Turkey Turkish billionaires Turkish crime bosses