Fourteen people, including well-known businessmen and prominent Turkish models and actresses, have been arrested as part of a wide-ranging anti-drug operation targeting public figures launched by the Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office which, in recent months, has led to the arrest for possession and use of narcotic substances of dozens of celebrities in Turkey.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued arrest warrants for a total of 16 suspects in a drug investigation against several celebrities; in the end, however, 14 people were located and arrested in the last few hours, including businessman and former Beşiktaş president Fikret Orman and former Galatasaray president Burak Elmas, all of whom were taken into custody and transferred to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for various tests.
According to the Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office, based on the investigations and evidence gathered, arrest warrants were issued for 16 suspects for “possession of narcotics for personal use or facilitating the use of narcotics”. As part of the operation, teams from the Anti-Narcotics Department conducted simultaneous raids at 16 locations to arrest those involved, resulting in 14 personas that could be traced arrested, while outstanding warrants were issued for the arrest of two other suspects, as reported by the Turkish daily Hürriyet.
The names of the persons detained during the raids are as follows:
- Fikret Orman
- Güzide Aksoy (Güzide Duran)
- Hande Erçel
- Burak Elmas
- Sezgin Köysüren
- Ferhat Aydın
- Lütfiye Tuğçe Özbudak
- Koray Serenli
- Onur Bükçü
- İsmail Behram Perinçekli
- Kaan Mellart
- Didem Soydan
- Onur Talay
- Mustafa Tari
Turkish actress Hande Erçel, under arrest warrant, announces she will return to Turkey
Former Beşiktaş president Fikret Orman and former Galatasaray president Burak Elmas, as well as Turkish model Didem Soydan and model and presenter Güzide Duran, were taken to the Istanbul Institute of Forensic Medicine after their arrest along with other detainees, where they were taken back to police custody after submitting blood and hair samples.
Turkish actress Hande Erçel, who is also under arrest warrant for alleged use of narcotic substances, said on her social media that she is outside Türkiye undergoing training but plans to return to the country to turn herself in and testify before the public prosecutor’s office.
In Turkey, the law distinguishes between possession, use, promotion of use and trafficking of drugs, with different penalties depending on the offence. The anti-drug investigation has been ongoing since October last year, when famous Turkish TV series actors, singers and influencers were arrested in an incident that caused a major scandal in Turkey. Since then, based on subsequent investigations and various testimonies, the operation has developed in several phases and further arrests have been made.
Less than a month ago the famous Turkish singer Edis was arrested at Istanbul Airport as part of an operation against drugs and prostitution that led last February to the arrest of 19 other people, including several celebrities from the world of music, acting, fashion and business.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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