The brother of a suspected mobster standing trial for the murder of an alleged drug baron's daughter, was killed in Istanbul's upscale Bağdat Avenue late Sunday. The killing of İlhan Ünğan is the latest in a series of murders from Istanbul to Dubai, all linked to the same two groups engaged in a feud.
İlhan Ünğan was shot dead by a gunman as he was approaching his car where his family was waiting for him. The gunman fled the scene while police launched an investigation into the murder. Ünğan was a wanted suspect in a 2014 case related to murders of Arzu Sharifi Zindaşti and her chauffeur Devrim Öztunç. Zindaşti, daughter of Iranian-born tycoon Naci Şerifi Zindaşti, and Öztunç were shot dead in Istanbul's Büyükçekmece district. İlhan Ünğan's brother Orhan, who remains in custody for the murders, was accused of ordering the hit on Zindaşti.
Media outlets reported that the killing of Ünğan may be connected to Naci Şerifi Zindaşti, who went missing after he was controversially released following his capture in a crackdown on organized crime last year. Zindaşti was also linked to the Dubai murder of Çetin Koç, an alleged drug baron who tipped off police about the former's drug shipment. Koç had also alleged ties with Orhan Ünğan whose lawyer Kudbettin Kaya was shot dead in Istanbul in 2017, days before he told a court trying Ünğan brothers that he might "be killed" because of the trial. Orhan Ünğan told the court himself that his rivals "plotted to kill him or his brother" and has appealed for protection.
