Cracking down on drug dealers in the city, İstanbul narcotics officers have seized notebooks from a number of dealers during the course of an ongoing narcotics investigation and found many names and addresses. The police obtained search warrants and raided the addresses listed, including Tarkan’s villa in the Ömerli district, detaining a number of entertainers and three businessmen. The son of a former deputy was also reportedly taken into custody. Police seized 12.5 grams of cannabis at Tarkan’s villa. Among the 10 people detained, two were allegedly involved in dealing drugs while the eight others only used drugs. İstanbul Police Chief Hüseyin Çapkın said the operation had been planned for six months and that the case will be submitted to court shortly.
After their testimony was taken, Tarkan and the other detainees were expected to be referred to the Beşiktaş court. Tarkan has been a chart-topping pop star for more than a decade in Turkey and Europe and has sold millions of records. His catchy Arabic-influenced tune “Şımarık” (Spoiled) reached the top of music charts in France in 1998.
