A police officer and a suspected drug trafficker were killed Monday during an anti-narcotics raid in Istanbul, as Türkiye intensifies nationwide operations against drug networks.
Authorities said the shootout erupted around 7:30 a.m. in the Cekmekoy district on the city’s Asian side, when police units came under fire while raiding a residential property. Special Operations officer Emre Albayrak later died of his injuries at a local hospital. The suspected gunman was also killed, and two others were taken into custody.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said security forces have stepped up operations across 72 provinces in the past week, detaining 970 suspects and seizing more than 352 kilograms of narcotics and 4.15 million pills. Türkiye, a key transit hub for traffickers moving drugs to Europe, has tightened border inspections and launched sweeping raids, though officials acknowledge consumption remains on the rise among young urban residents.
“Efforts to dismantle narcotics networks will continue with determination and without compromise,” Yerlikaya said.