The İstanbul Police Narcotics Department carried out one of its most comprehensive anti-drug operations last week, seizing three tons of amphetamine, which is enough to produce nearly 200 million Captagon pills. İstanbul Governor Muammer Güler held a press conference on Monday and said that the amount of amphetamine seized was worth nearly TL 2 billion. The leader of the drug ring the police busted, Habib Kanat, was detained in the operation in addition to 11 others, including chemical engineer Hüseyin Rıza Işık, who is suspected of having been responsible for the technical aspects of drug production.
Associate Professor Işık, who lectured at Beykent University and İstanbul University for many years, also worked as a drug expert for the İstanbul Police Narcotics Department for a time. He was arrested in 2007 for producing ecstasy but released after spending 14 months in prison. Officials said the police were still searching for two other suspects.
The operation has also revealed links between Kanat and high-ranking police officers that had allowed him to evade authorities many times in the past. An investigation has been launched into three high-ranking police officers who have alleged links with Kanat over membership in a gang and providing intelligence to drug smugglers. Narcotics police discovered that Kanat had frequent phone conversations with three top police officers, including Deputy National Police Chief Emin Arslan, who was in charge of the anti-smuggling department. The officers allegedly informed Kanat about narcotics operations beforehand, allowing Kanat to hide evidence. Kanat was known to have been engaged in drug trafficking for eight years but police could not detain him as they had no concrete evidence. Kanat allegedly built a mosque in İstanbul's Ataşehir district to draw attention away from his illegal activities.
Kanat's strongest link is said to have been with Arslan. Arslan's son is reported to be business partners with Kanat, as well. According to news reports, Kanat also played a major role in Işık being employed by the police department as an expert on narcotics by making use of his connection with Arslan.
Arslan was also implicated in the ongoing investigation into Ergenekon, a gang charged with murders, manipulation of the public and plotting to overthrow the government. According to the testimony of a police officer who is a secret witness in the Ergenekon trial, Osman Gürbüz, suspected of being an Ergenekon hit man, was involved in a clash with police in 1995. The secret witness said Gürbüz's gun was not sent to a criminal laboratory for analysis and he was ordered to take it to Arslan instead.
The two other police officers were reported to be in charge of the İstanbul Police Department's Anti-smuggling and Organized Crime Bureau. The suspects also allegedly attempted to clear Kanat's criminal record.
In the meantime, close colleagues of Arslan claimed that Kanat's relationship with Arslan was as an informant and that phone conversations between them merely reveal a police chief-informant relationship.
The three high-ranking police officers were called to testify before a prosecutor on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters as he arrived at the İstanbul Courthouse in Beşiktaş, Kanat said claims about him were groundless and that the truth was being manipulated. “My friends and colleagues should know that I have not made any ill-gotten gains throughout my career. I have reached this position through my own effort,” he said. He also denied any link with Işık.
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