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A police officer died on Monday after being shot and seriously wounded during an early morning drug raid in Istanbul, Turkish officials said.
Officer Emre Albayrak, who was part of a special operations team carrying out the raid in the Çekmeköy district on Istanbul’s Asian side, died of his wounds in hospital.
“Our police officer Emre Albayrak, who was seriously injured in a narcotics operation in the Çekmeköy district, could not be saved despite all interventions in the hospital to which he was taken and became a martyr,” Istanbul Governor’s Office said in a statement.
The man who opened fire on police was killed and two other suspects were detained, the office said.
Turkey has experienced a rise in drug-related crime in recent years. There was a 23% rise in drug-related incidents last year compared to 2023, according to a National Police Counter-Narcotics Department report.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a social media post on Monday that 970 suspects had been detained in nationwide counter-narcotics operations over the previous week.
Additional sources • AP