Cekmekoy Drug Operation (December 2025)

Chekmekoy Narcotics Operation is a narcotics search operation conducted on 8 December 2025 at an address in the Aydınlar Neighborhood of Çekmeköy district, Istanbul. During the operation, gunfire was directed at security forces from inside the residence, resulting in an armed confrontation. In the incident, Police officer Emre Albayrak, assigned to the Special Operations Branch Directorate, sustained serious injuries and was martyred at the hospital to which he was transported. The individual who carried out the attack, identified as R.A., was killed; two other individuals, Ç.A. and C.A., were apprehended alive.

Representative image of a narcotics operation – (Anadolu Agency)

Course of the Operation

The incident occurred on Monday, 8 December 2025, at approximately 07:30, in a residence located on Adnan Kahveci Street in the Aydınlar Neighborhood of Istanbul’s Çekmeköy district. Security forces conducted a narcotics search operation at the address in question.

According to the official statement issued by the Istanbul Governorship, gunfire was opened from inside the residence toward security personnel. As a result of the gunfire, Police Officer Emre Albayrak, assigned to the Special Operations Branch Directorate of the Istanbul Police Directorate, was injured. Immediately after the incident, reinforcement units were dispatched to the area and security measures were implemented in the surrounding region. During the armed confrontation at the scene, Ramazan A. (35), the attacker, was killed. Çetin A. (27) and Cemal A. (58) were apprehended alive.

Injury and Martyrdom of Emre Albayrak

Police Officer Emre Albayrak, who sustained serious injuries during the confrontation, was transported by ambulance to Sancaktepe Martyr Prof. Dr. İlhan Varank Training and Research Hospital. Despite all medical interventions, he could not be saved and was martyred. It was announced that Martyr Albayrak was 27 years old, married, began his service in Hakkâri in 2019, and had been serving in Istanbul since 2022.

Identities and Criminal Records of the Suspects

According to findings determined during the investigation, the deceased Ramazan A. had a total of ten prior criminal records for offenses including “endangering traffic safety,” “intentional injury,” “threat,” “insult,” “cyber theft,” and “abuse.”

Among the suspects taken into custody, father Cemal A. was found to have a criminal record for “intentional injury,” while his son Çetin A. had a total of 21 criminal records for offenses including “threat,” “insult,” “intentional endangerment of public safety,” “intentional injury,” “endangering traffic safety,” “resistance to official duty,” “abuse,” “child abduction,” “purchasing, accepting, or possessing narcotics or stimulants for use,” “using narcotics or stimulants,” and “manufacture and trade of narcotics or stimulants.”

Congratulatory Messages and Institutional Responses

Following the incident, condolence messages were issued by various state officials. Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye Numan Kurtulmuş expressed condolences for Emre Albayrak in a statement on social media. Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç stated in his announcement that one police officer had been martyred as a result of gunfire during the operation, one suspect had been neutralized, and two suspects had been taken into custody. It was also reported that the judicial investigation initiated by the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is being conducted comprehensively.

Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran also expressed his sorrow over the martyrdom of Emre Albayrak and extended his condolences to the Police Organization, the family, and close relatives of the deceased. The investigation into the incident is being carried out by the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.