Armenian “treasure” hunters in Istanbul dig 20 meters deep, but find themselves at police precinct

In an attempt to find the “treasures” of an Armenian woman who runs a jewelry store at Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, four people have dug a 20-meter hole underneath a 4-storey residential building at the city’s Fatih district.

Three months prior to this event, the treasure hunters had rented the basement apartment of the building where, according to them, the Armenian woman’s “treasures” were to have been hidden. Afterwards, they began digging and filling the unearthed soil into bags. No having found anything, however, the hunters vacated the apartment, claiming that living on the basement floor was hazardous for their health. But several days later, on August 29, sounds are again heard from the basement. The police who arrive at the scene come across, in the hole that was dug at the basement, the 4 Turkish treasure hunters whom they immediately arrest, the Turkish Hurriyet daily reports.

Attorney of the building’s residents informed that years ago an Armenian woman had lived in the building, and she had told her neighbors that she had buried a fortune underneath the building. “And this turned into a calamity for the residents. They [the treasure hunters] have dug a hole, but have not considered that there are 8 apartments above and the residents’ lives are put at risk. The residents live in their homes in fear. They had dug such deep hole, yet no noise was heard; they were definitely professionals,” the attorney noted.

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