Wanted man Tuğrul Başar found living as a woman

Tuğrul Başar, a man wanted since 2018 for three robbery crimes committed while impersonating a public official in 2010, was recently discovered in Istanbul living as a transgender woman. Başar escaped a three-year prison sentence and managed to evade authorities for eight years by adopting his sister's identity and altering his appearance significantly.

Turkish police identified him during a special operation aimed at apprehending fugitives with unserved sentences. They monitored his family and associates, leading to the discovery of two young women living in his sister's home, both using the same identity.

Police reports indicated that Başar's transformation was so extensive that they could not rely on old mugshots for identification. After confirming his identity through a fingerprint test, he was arrested while carrying his sister's identity card.

Regardless of his self-identification, Başar will serve his sentence in a men's prison, as he never officially updated his name or gender in Turkey's civil registration system.