Turkey’s sweeping anti-narcotics operations have expanded to include prominent figures from business and entertainment, triggering debate over whether the focus remains on organized crime kingpins or on well-known public personalities.
The latest detention involved Esat Yontunç, a senior executive at Acun Medya and a close associate of influential television producer Acun Ilıcalı. Yontunç was detained at Istanbul Airport returning to Turkey, following a warrant issued by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office as part of a drug investigation.
Before returning, Yontunç said on social media that he had a clear conscience and would cooperate with authorities.
Among those detained in recent weeks are Hürriyet journalist Mehmet Üstündağ, social media influencer Bilal Hancı, and people linked to major Turkish companies, including heirs to the Abdi İbrahim pharmaceutical group and the textile firm Huzur Giyim. Another columnist for Hürriyet, Cihan Şenözlü, was arrested in December as part of a drug and prostitution investigation, but has denied all allegations.
Media reports also highlighted the arrest of Çetin Gören, owner of the cargo ship United S, after 10 tons of cocaine were seized off the coast of Spain. Gören had previously been acquitted in the high-profile “Swamp” case, once described by former Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu as the largest drug operation in Turkey’s history.
Authorities say the operations are widening as part of what the government describes as an all-out war on narcotics.
Ahead of rumors that he could be removed from the Cabinet, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said more than 43,000 people were detained in drug-related operations in 2025 alone, including what he described as numerous “drug barons.” He said more than 100,000 suspects have been arrested over the past two and a half years.
The opposition has asked the government why major traffickers have rarely appeared in public arrests while celebrities and business figures dominate headlines. Yerlikaya responded by listing figures detained in large-scale operations, insisting that authorities track suspicious vehicles, ships and financial routes “step by step.”
Last week, Yerlikaya said that 298 kilograms of cocaine were seized at Mersin port in a container declared as peanuts from Brazil, though authorities have yet to identify the shipment’s owner or intended recipient. The lack of clarity over who controls major trafficking networks continues to fuel public debate over the question of “who the drug barons are.”
Large-scale raids that started last autumn brought the investigations into public view after dozens of actors, singers and media figures were questioned by gendarmerie units in Istanbul. Several were released under judicial supervision, while others were later arrested or barred from leaving the country.
The expanding scope of the operations continues to fuel debate over whether Turkey’s campaign is dismantling organized drug networks — or reshaping the political and media landscape through high-profile arrests.
Pro-government media had previously published reports alleging links between the investigation and jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, allegations the opposition has dismissed as politically motivated.
