Former footballer seeks to cooperate as confessor in drug probe

ISTANBUL

Former football star Ümit Karan has applied to the prosecutor’s office to benefit from effective remorse provisions following his arrest in a wide-ranging narcotics investigation, local media reported on Jan. 30.

Karan was jailed pending trial earlier this month on charges of supplying narcotic or psychotropic substances to others as part of the ongoing probe.

The investigation has sent shockwaves through Türkiye’s entertainment and media sectors since late last year, with a growing list of high-profile figures detained. Those arrested include Mehmet Akif Ersoy, former editor-in-chief of private broadcaster Habertürk, news anchor Ela Rümeysa Cebeci, journalist Ebru Gülan and businessmen Mustafa Manaz and Ufuk Tetik, alongside former professional footballer Karan.

The Turkish media reported that Karan formally requested to give testimony under the effective remorse framework, which allows suspects to receive sentence reductions in exchange for substantial cooperation with authorities.

Karan has not yet given his statement but is expected to testify to prosecutors in the coming days as part of his request to benefit from the provision.

According to the Forensic Medicine Institute, drug tests conducted on Karan returned positive results in both blood and urine samples.

Depending on the scope and value of his testimony, prosecutors may recommend a reduction in sentence or his release pending trial.

The probe first became public when TV anchor Ersoy was arrested in December 2025. Following the operation, the anchor was dismissed from his post as editor-in-chief at Habertürk TV.

He has also faced allegations that he introduced women to men in his circle in order to gain professional and financial advantages and that suspects enabled drug use at their residences and supplied narcotics to women brought there.