Turkish authorities have carried out a third wave of arrests in a widening drug investigation targeting figures from the entertainment and media sectors, detaining eight suspects including a high-profile actress, prosecutors said on Dec. 19.
Actress Ezgi Eyüboğlu was detained on suspicion of purchasing, possessing or using narcotics for personal use, according to the prosecutor’s office in Istanbul.
Other suspects face different charges.
Manager Eser Küçükerol and İsmail Ahmet Akçay, identified as a driver for businessman Kasım Garipoğlu, who was also targeted by warrants issued as part of the same investigation, were detained on suspicion of drug manufacturing and trafficking.
Several others were detained on allegations of facilitating or encouraging prostitution, while one was detained for illegal possession of a firearm.
During searches linked to the investigation, police seized licensed and unlicensed firearms, a blank-firing gun and counterfeit U.S. dollar bills. They also recovered various narcotics, including pills, crystal-form drugs, paraphernalia and grinders, prosecutors said.
The Dec. 19 operation follows earlier developments in the same probe.
News anchor Ela Rümeysa Cebeci was arrested on Dec. 17, a day before actress İrem Sak, singer Aleyna Tilki and influencers Danla Bilic and Mümine Senna Yıldız were detained as part of the probe. They were released following the collection of blood and hair samples the same day.
Arrest warrants were also issued for others who could not be located at their registered addresses or were determined to be abroad.
This follows a similar operation carried out in October, when several celebrities were detained, including actors Demet Evgar, Mert Yazıcıoğlu, Zeynep Meriç Aral, Ceren Moray and Özge Özpirinçci, singers Hadise and İrem Derici and influencer Duygu Özaslan Mutaf.
Many of those detained in October were later released without charges.
Private broadcaster Habertürk TV editor-in-chief Mehmet Akif Ersoy was also arrested in the same case. Authorities said Ersoy tested positive for drugs.
