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Turkish authorities have issued detention warrants for 25 public figures, including singers Sila and Ilyas Yalcintas, as prosecutors widen a drug investigation targeting celebrities, businesspeople and entertainment venue operators.
Nine suspects have already been detained in an operation carried out by the Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command under orders from the Bakirkoy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, while efforts to locate the remaining suspects are ongoing.
Those detained include television producer Mehmet Fatih Aksoy and singer Ilyas Yalcintas, while Sila is among the individuals named in the warrants but has not been listed among those arrested so far.
Authorities also ordered medical examinations of the suspects before they are referred to prosecutors as part of the investigation. The prosecutor's office said the case forms part of ongoing efforts to combat narcotics that endanger public health and safety.
The warrants also cover Ates Ince, Oner Faruk Isik, Sefik Omer Dolman, Aybuke Albere, Ayse Nur Balci, Irem Haznedar, Orhan Yildiz, Burak Celik, Volkan Buyukhanli, Busra Tatar, Cenk Coteli, Feyza Cihan, Asude Mercan, H. Eylem Ipek Safak, Gokhan Safak, Umit Aslan, Bugra Balkaya, Akin Altan, Oguz Alp Guler, Kubra Altay, Hilal Zeynep Hedbe and Melis Selcukoglu.
The latest operation marks another phase of a sweeping narcotics investigation that has expanded over the past several months, repeatedly targeting high-profile figures from Türkiye's entertainment, media and business circles.
Previous waves of the investigation have involved prominent names, including singers Aleyna Tilki, Mustafa Ceceli, Simge Sagin, Melek Mosso, actors Ibrahim Celikkol, Burak Deniz and Hande Ercel, as well as business figures Hakan Sabanci, Kerim Sabanci, former football club executives Fikret Orman and Burak Elmas, and television personalities Mehmet Akif Ersoy and Ela Rumeysa Cebeci.
Some suspects were arrested, while others were later released under judicial supervision or after questioning.
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