Crimestoppers offers £10,000 reward in hunt for Ceyhan Dinler

Essex Police and the charity Crimestoppers have partnered up in a push to locate Ceyhan Dinler, who is wanted in connection with the murder of Cumali Turhan.

Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to £10,000 to find Ceyhan Dinler, who was last seen at Stansted Airport on 19 November 2024 - the day Cumali disappeared.

The night before, Cumali had met Ceyhan Dinler for a drink in The Globe pub, before they walked to Barista Bar on Duke Street, Chelmsford. Cumali never made it out alive, and Essex Police later learned his body had been put in a bin.

A second man, Ciprian Ilie, 44, was jailed for seven years in October for assisting an offender (murder) and preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body. Essex Police are now trying to locate Ceyhan Dinler.

The appeal launches following the transmission of Channel 4 programme Catching a Killer: Buried Truths, which documented Essex Police’s exhaustive investigation and search for Cumali.

They searched an Essex landfill site for 47 days in their efforts to find the 45-year-old father.

Working 10 hours a day in extremely difficult conditions, the officers meticulously and sensitively searched an area of 5,000m2 (around the size of a full-size football pitch), which was five metres deep in places. The team hunted through 1,500 tonnes of waste before they found him.

It is believed that no other force in the country has ever recovered a body from a landfill site during an active police search.

Detective Chief Inspector Louise Metcalfe, who is leading the investigation, said:

“We are completely focused on locating Mr Dinler so that he can answer our questions.
“This investigation has seen one man jailed for his part and it is vital that we bring everyone responsible before the courts.
“Cumali’s family deserve answers and justice. We will ensure that happens by working closely with partners.
“We will not stop looking for him and appeal to him directly to contact us.
“If you know where he is or have any information, please contact Crimestoppers. Speaking to them is completely anonymous and does not involve talking to the police.
“Help us ensure there is justice for Cumali and his family.
“We stopped at nothing to find Cumali’s body, so we could return him to his loved ones. And we are putting that same level of commitment into locating Ceyhan Dinler.”

Crimestoppers, which is independent of the police, is supporting this investigation by offering a reward of up to £10,000 for information the charity exclusively receives - either through the Crimestoppers website or by calling 0800 555 111 at any time - that leads to the arrest of Ceyhan Dinler.

The reward is available for three months and is due to expire on 6 April 2026.

Information can be passed to Crimestoppers anonymously. The charity is independent of the police and guarantees complete anonymity to everyone who contacts them.

Phil Breckon, Eastern Regional Manager at the charity Crimestoppers, said:

“Our charity knows how difficult it can be to speak up when it involves discussing especially dangerous criminals.
“With Crimestoppers, you stay completely anonymous. That means no police, no courts, no witness statements. In other words, if you contact our charity to tell us where Dinler is located, no one will ever know.
“Cumali Turhan’s family in Turkey and here in the UK are desperate for answers and need justice. You could make a huge difference in a case that is truly tragic.”

No-one will ever know you contacted Crimestoppers. With Fearless.org and Crimestoppers-uk.org, computer IP addresses are never traced.

For telephone calls to the independent charity’s UK Contact Centre, there is no caller line display and no 1471 facility. You will stay 100% anonymous. Always.

Crimestoppers is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They cannot trace your call or track your IP address. No one will ever know you contacted them. This means no police, no courts, no witness statements. You may think your information is insignificant, however it could make all the difference.

Information passed directly to the police will not qualify for a reward.

Anonymity

Crimestoppers guarantees complete anonymity, meaning that people who call or contact the charity via their website can pass on what they know without ever giving any personal details. Computer IP addresses are never traced. Telephone calls are never recorded; there is no caller line display and no 1471 facility.

Claiming a reward

The reward will only be payable for information passed directly to Crimestoppers and not to the police. A reward code must be asked for when calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. If you contact the charity via their online form anonymously, the 'keeping in contact’ facility must be used, and a reward code must be requested on your initial contact.