The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday that it had seized the assets of seven suspects in a sprawling narcotics investigation that has expanded into claims of money laundering and prostitution-related offenses.
Prosecutors said the asset seizures were ordered due to accusations of laundering the proceeds of crime and were imposed on Kasım Garipoğlu, Fatih Garipoğlu, Burak Ateş, Ayşegül Şeynova, Gökmen Kadir Şeynova, Mert Vidinli and Ezgi Fındık.
The prosecutor’s office said the suspects are the subjects of detention warrants and were determined to be abroad.
Authorities are investigating alleged crimes that include drug manufacturing and trafficking, making drug use easier by providing a place, equipment or conditions that help users avoid detection, drug possession for personal use and encouraging or facilitating prostitution, prosecutors said.
The İstanbul prosecutor has previously said the investigation has led to 23 arrests so far.
The latest move follows police raids on December 28 targeting 34 businesses described by Turkish media as entertainment venues and hotels across İstanbul, and a court decision that jailed 12 suspects in that wave while putting others under judicial supervision.
Kasım Garipoğlu has attracted extra public attention because he is a cousin of Cem Garipoğlu, who was convicted in the 2009 killing of İstanbul teenager Münevver Karabulut, a case that dominated Turkish headlines for years.