Hande Erçel sent for forensic testing in Istanbul drug probe

ALBAWABA - Hande Erçel faces testing amid Istanbul drug probe developments.

Actress Hande Erçel was sent to Istanbul's Council of Forensic Medicine after testifying to prosecutors in an ongoing drug probe involving several notable public personalities.

Hande Erçel, who had been detained, appeared in the Istanbul Courthouse in Caglayan as part of the investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. After submitting her statement to prosecutors, she was transported to the Council of Forensic Medicine to have hair and blood samples taken.

The move was part of a larger investigation launched by prosecutors on March 25 into 16 individuals accused of either possessing narcotics for personal use or assisting drug use. Squads from Istanbul's anti-narcotics police division simultaneously carried out the operation, according to Turkish authorities.

A wide-ranging case has swept up well-known names 

Prosecutors originally stated that 14 individuals had been detained, with detention warrants filed for both Kaan Mellart and Hande Ercel. The identities cited in the lawsuit included Fikret Orman, Guzide Aksoy, also known as Guzide Duran, Hakan Sabanci, Kerim Sabanci, Burak Elmas, Didem Soydan, and others.

Following questioning, several suspects were transferred to a criminal judgeship of peace, a lower court in Turkey that makes arrest and judicial control decisions during investigations. Prosecutors intended to arrest Koray Serenli, Onur Talay, Sezgin Koysuren, Tugce Ozbudak, and Mustafa Tari.

Others, including Kerim Sabanci, Hakan Sabanci, Burak Elmas, Fikret Orman, Guzide Duran, and Didem Soydan, were served with demands for judicial control measures such as travel bans. Ferhat Aydin and Ismail Behram Perincekli were referred for house confinement, while Onur Bukcu was released after providing a statement.

The judgeship later determined that Koray Serenli, Onur Talay, Sezgin Koysuren, and Mustafa Tari should be detained pending trial. Tugce Ozbudak was placed under judicial control, including a travel ban and home arrest.

In accordance with the prosecution's motion, the court imposed judicial control measures on Kerim Sabanci, Hakan Sabanci, Burak Elmas, Fikret Orman, Guzide Duran, Didem Soydan, Ferhat Aydin, and Ismail Behram Perincekli.

Hakan Sabanci battled back against claims and denied all allegations

Testimony from Hakan Sabanci, who was released under judicial supervision with a travel ban, was later revealed in Turkish media coverage of the case. He stated that he had never used drugs and had never been in a drug-using environment.

Sabanci responded to allegations against Aygun Aydin, calling them untrue and slanderous. He claimed she was someone he had only seen once before and afterward treated as an obsessive figure and that he had acquired a restraining order against her.

When queried about Aydin's February 19, 2026, statement, in which she claimed to have seen him use cocaine twice, including once at the Bebek Hotel, Sabanci rejected the report, claiming that he had never gone there with her and that they had gone nowhere.

He also denied her accusation that she saw him use cocaine at his family's waterfront property in Kanlica. Sabanci claimed they had met once at his home on the middle level but that no drugs were used.

Sabanci also denied party claims and referred to Ercel directly

Sabanci also refuted charges involving parties reportedly held by Kasim Garipoglu.

When asked about comments suggesting that he and others attended the gatherings, he denied participating in such activities and contended that his name appeared on an invitation list for other reasons.