Ankara police seize $10 M worth of fossils from houses of Islamist cult leader Adnan Oktar
Turkish police have seized 879 animal and plant fossils worth $10 million from two houses owned by Islamic televangelist cult leader Adnan Oktar. Officials said the fossils would be delivered to a museum in Ankara.
Duvar English
Turkish police on Oct. 21 seized 879 animal and plant fossils worth $10 million (78.4 million Turkish Liras) and dating back 150-200 million years from two houses owned by Islamic televangelist cult leader Adnan Oktar.
The fossils were to be sold for the cult's financial survival, said a suspect who illegally brought the artifacts into Turkey, reported state-run Anadolu Agency.
Officials said the fossils would be delivered to a museum in Ankara.
Oktar is a self-described Islamic scholar known for his numerous writings promoting creationism against Darwin's theory of evolution.
He was remanded by a court in 2018, along with 168 others, on charges of committing numerous crimes, including establishing a criminal organization, child sexual abuse, kidnapping, tax fraud and terrorism.
Before his arrest, Oktar used to run his own television channel A9 on which he has hosted talk shows on Islamic values. On occasion he was broadcast dancing with young women he called “kittens” and singing with young men, his “lions.”