ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The president of Fenerbahce, one of Turkey’s leading sports clubs, was taken into custody in Istanbul on Wednesday as part of a widening drug investigation that has ensnared prominent entertainment and media figures, state media reported.
Sadettin Saran, a dual citizen of Turkey and the U.S., was detained just hours after forensic tests detected traces of narcotics in his hair samples, according to state broadcaster TRT.
He had been summoned last week to testify before prosecutors and was sent to a forensic medical facility to provide hair and blood samples.
Since early December, more than a dozen people have been taken into custody as part of an investigation overseen by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office.
They include television presenters, journalists, singers, actors and social media personalities. They face charges ranging from drug production and trafficking to facilitating prostitution. Many have undergone blood and hair testing for narcotics use.
Denver-born Saran, who was elected Fenerbahce’s chairman in September, was questioned last week on suspicion of supplying and enabling the use of narcotic substances.
Fenerbahce released a statement expressing its support to Saran and assuring fans that the club’s operations would continue uninterrupted.
“We have full confidence that our president will overcome this process with the same common sense and fortitude he has always shown,” the club said on X. “Our president, Mr. Sadettin Saran, will put these days behind him and continue to work with determination for our club.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Saran issued a statement rejecting the test result, insisting that he had never used the drug in question and pledging to formally request a repeat examination.
Istanbul-based Fenerbahce is one of Turkey’s most popular and successful sports franchises. The club’s former president, Aziz Yildirim, spent more than a year in jail in 2012 on match-fixing charges, before being acquitted when a new trial found the earlier case had been influenced by corrupt judges, prosecutors and police officers.
The club has also found itself caught up in a separate investigation into illegal betting and match-fixing across Turkish soccer. Fenerbahce also has teams that compete in basketball, volleyball, athletics and swimming, among other sports.