More businessmen, celebrities detained in latest drug probe wave

ISTANBUL

Fourteen more people, including prominent business figures and models, have been detained as part of a sweeping drug investigation targeting public figures, Istanbul prosecutors said on March 25.

Those detained include former Beşiktaş chairman Fikret Orman, former Galatasaray president Burak Elmas, businesspeople Hakan Sabancı and Kerim Sabancı and models Didem Soydan and Güzide Duran. Prosecutors also issued an arrest warrant for actress Hande Erçel, who was abroad.

The investigation has been ongoing since October last year, unfolding in multiple waves and drawing widespread public attention due to the high-profile nature of those involved.

Under Turkish law, authorities distinguish between drug use, promoting drug use and drug trafficking, with varying penalties. Drug use includes the purchase, possession or consumption of narcotics.

The probe intensified last December when TV anchor Mehmet Akif Ersoy was arrested and later dismissed from his role as editor-in-chief at HaberTürk.

Others arrested in the investigation include news anchor Ela Rümeysa Cebeci, businesspeople Mustafa Manaz and Ufuk Tetik, journalist Ebru Gülan and former footballer Ümit Karan.

Dozens of other actors, singers, business figures and social media personalities — including Aleyna Tilki, Kaan Tangöze, Oktay Kaynarca, İsmail Hacıoğlu, Sadettin Saran, Hasan Can Kaya, Enes Batur and Şeyma Şubaşı — were previously detained and later released.

The narcotics investigation has even intersected with a separate corruption case involving the Istanbul Municipality following the detention of former volleyball player Derya Çayırgan.

Authorities said her detention is linked to statements by social media personality Rabia Karaca, a figure in the drug probe. Karaca claimed she had previously boarded a private jet she alleged belonged to jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.

Officials from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) have denied that İmamoğlu owns a private aircraft.

İmamoğlu has been in pretrial detention since March last year, when he was detained on the same day he was declared the party’s presidential candidate. Prosecutors accuse him of leading a criminal organization and seek a sentence of more than 2,400 years in prison. The CHP says the case is politically motivated.

Celebrities caught up in the investigation have repeatedly argued that their reputations have been harmed and that the presumption of innocence has been undermined by public scrutiny.