12/20/25 09:15:00
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12/20 09:14 CST Chair of leading Turkish sports club Fenerbahce questioned in a
drugs probe
Chair of leading Turkish sports club Fenerbahce questioned in a drugs probe
ISTANBUL (AP) --- The chair of Fenerbahce, one of Turkey's leading sports
clubs, was called to give testimony Saturday as part of an ongoing drug
investigation involving high-profile entertainment and media figures.
Sadettin Saran, who holds dual Turkish and U.S. citizenship, gave a statement
in Istanbul after returning from abroad before being sent to a forensic medical
facility to have hair and blood samples taken, the state-run Anadolu news
agency reported.
More than a dozen people have been detained since the start of December as part
of an investigation overseen by Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office.
TV news anchors, journalists, singers, actors and social media influencers have
been among those detained on charges including the manufacture and trafficking
of drugs and facilitating prostitution. Many have undergone blood and hair
tests for the presence of narcotics.
Denver-born Saran, who was voted Fenerbahce's chair in September, was
questioned on suspicion of providing and facilitating the use of narcotic
substances, according to Anadolu.
He returned to Caglayan courthouse after giving medical samples and was later
released under judicial condition.
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
match-fixing across Turkish soccer.
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