Turkish prosecutors have said security forces raided seven businesses in İstanbul as part of a drug investigation that also includes allegations linked to prostitution and detained seven people, including actor Can Yaman, a star in Italy as well as Turkey.
Gendarmerie units raided Bebek Otel, a hotel on the Bosporus in the Bebek neighborhood, while narcotics officers from the police department searched Klein Phönix, a nightclub in İstanbul.
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said police carried out search and seizure operations at six businesses, while the gendarmerie conducted a search and seizure at one place of business. Prosecutors said officers seized substances described as liquids and residue believed to be drugs, along with cocaine, marijuana, pills, a precision scale and ammunition.
Those detained in the hotel operation included actress Selen Görgüzel, Ayşe Sağlam, former television presenter Nilüfer Batur Tokgöz and Ceren Alper. The total rose to seven after Yaman was also taken into custody.
Yaman is a Turkish television actor known for lead roles who has built a following in Italy and recently starred as the title character in the Italian adventure series “Sandokan.”
Prosecutors said the accusations being investigated include possessing drugs for personal use, facilitating drug use and encouraging prostitution or providing a place for prostitution.
The raids are the latest move in an investigation prosecutors have said involves 26 suspects sought on detention warrants. Earlier operations in İstanbul and other provinces have led to detentions and arrests, including the jailing of producer Muzaffer Yıldırım, whom Turkish news outlets have identified as the owner of Bebek Otel.
The investigation, led by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office’s smuggling, narcotics and financial crimes bureau, has unfolded in waves since late December, with raids on nightclubs, hotels and other businesses in İstanbul and operations in other provinces, as prosecutors pursue allegations that include drug trafficking, facilitating drug use, drug possession for personal use, prostitution-related offenses and money laundering.
Prosecutors said 36 people have been jailed so far, with 26 suspects sought on detention warrants in one major round, while Kasım Garipoğlu and Mert Vidinli were described as fugitives believed to be abroad. Authorities have also ordered asset seizures for seven suspects in the money laundering track of the case.
The probe has involved a large number of targets, including business owners and nightclub operators, models and entertainment figures, social media influencers, journalists and television personalities such as former Habertürk executive Mehmet Akif Ersoy, as well as Fenerbahçe Sports Club President Sadettin Saran, who was detained and later released under judicial supervision before announcing an end-of-season extraordinary meeting to elect a new president for Fenerbahçe.