High-ranking police officer arrested over links with drug baron

Arslan was taken into custody last week in a massive anti-drug operation in İstanbul. Drug baron Habib Kanat was also among the detainees. The police seized three tons of amphetamine, which is enough to produce nearly 200 million Captagon pills, worth nearly TL 2 billion.

The police chief was, however, released by Judge Faik Saban pending trial. Saban had also questioned and released Col. Dursun Çiçek, a suspect in the ongoing investigation into Ergenekon, a gang charged with murders, manipulation of the public and plotting to overthrow the government.

A prosecutor immediately objected to Arslan's release, and the investigation was forwarded to the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court. The court ruled late on Thursday that the police chief be arrested. Arslan told reporters that he heard about the ruling against him from the press. He said he was in the northwestern province of Balıkesir and was planning to go to İstanbul and surrender to security forces soon. “I did not commit any crime. I believe I was misunderstood. The truth will appear in time,” he noted.

Arslan has also been implicated in the Ergenekon case. According to the testimony of a police officer who is a secret witness in the Ergenekon trial, Osman Gürbüz, who is 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 that he was ordered to take it to Arslan instead.