A police officer was critically wounded in a drug raid Monday in İstanbul’s Çekmeköy district and later died at a hospital, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported, citing local officials.
One suspect was killed in the exchange of gunfire, and two others were detained.
Narcotics officers raided a house in the Aydınlar neighborhood early Monday when individuals inside opened fire, according to the İstanbul Governor’s Office.
Emre Albayrak, a 27-year-old member of the police special operations unit, was critically wounded and later died at a hospital.
Milletimizin başı sağ olsun 🇹🇷
Üzüntümüz çok büyük.İstanbul Özel Harekat Şube Müdürlüğü kadrosunda görevli Kahraman evladımız Emre Albayrak, Çekmeköy’de uyuşturucu operasyonu sırasında açılan ateş sonucu yaralanmış, kaldırıldığı hastanede yapılan tüm müdahalelere rağmen… pic.twitter.com/Vx4n5f5ZHt
— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) December 8, 2025
One suspect, identified as Ramazan A., 35, was killed during the shootout. Two others, identified as Çetin A. and Cemal A., were taken into custody.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya released a message of condolence on social media, saying Albayrak died despite medical intervention.
The governor’s office said the operation was conducted as part of a narcotics investigation.
The suspects involved in the killing of Albayrak had multiple prior offenses. Çetin A. had a record that included several counts of assault, threats and insult, endangering public safety and drug-related crimes, while Ramazan A., who was killed in the shootout, had prior charges that included multiple counts of assault, threats and insult as well as one count of cyber theft.
The incident comes amid a surge in narcotics operations across Turkey in which hundreds have been detained in coordinated raids and tons of drugs have been seized in efforts to curb a rising drug-related crime wave.
Turkey has seen a sharp rise in drug-related crime in recent years, with incidents up 23 percent last year compared to 2023, according to the National Police’s counter-narcotics department.
Interior Minister Yerlikaya said Monday that 970 suspects have been detained and 352 kilograms of drugs seized in nationwide operations over the past week.