Saadettin Saran, the chair of Türkiye's football giant Fenerbahçe, was summoned and testified on Dec. 20 in a widening narcotics investigation that has already ensnared numerous high-profile entertainment and media figures.
Saran, who holds dual Turkish and U.S. citizenship, gave a statement in Istanbul after returning from abroad before being sent to a forensic medical facility to have hair and blood samples taken, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
More than a dozen people have been detained since the start of December as part of an investigation overseen by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office.
TV news anchors, journalists, singers, actors and social media influencers have been among those detained on charges including the manufacture and trafficking of drugs and facilitating prostitution. Many have undergone blood and hair tests for the presence of narcotics.
Denver-born Saran, who was voted Fenerbahçe’s chair in September, was questioned on suspicion of providing and facilitating the use of narcotic substances.
He returned to Çağlayan Courthouse after giving medical samples and was later released under judicial condition.
Journalist Mehmet Akif Ersoy, who was removed from his position at Habertürk as the editor-in-chief following the probe, was named as the central figure in the allegations.
Ersoy faces accusations of offering female colleagues sexual favors in exchange for promotions or better roles at the channel.
Ela Rümeysa Cebeci, another news anchor from the same network, was also detained on charges related to supplying drugs. She was also allegedly engaging in sexual relations with certain senior figures to advance her career, according to phone messages and confidential witnesses cited by the prosecution.
One of the individuals allegedly involved with Cebeci was Saran, who denied the drug-related claims.
However, during searches of Saran’s residences in Istanbul and the northwestern province of Çanakkale, traces of drugs were found.
Saran stated that his Çanakkale villa frequently hosted large gatherings and that the residues could have come from guests.
He also explained that during a major barbecue event at the villa, a house employee burned coffee to repel bees, and that the substances found were residues resulting from the burning of coffee, lavender and sage.
