Turkish police officer dies from gunshot wounds suffered in Istanbul drug raid

A police officer died Monday after being shot and seriously wounded during an early morning drug raid in Istanbul, Turkish officials said.

Officer Emre Albayrak died of his wounds in a hospital. He was part of a special operations team carrying out the raid in the Cekmekoy district on Istanbul’s Asian side.

“Our police officer Emre Albayrak, who was seriously injured in a narcotics operation in the Cekmekoy 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 Monday that 970 suspects had been detained in nationwide counter-narcotics operations over the previous week.