Global General

Turkey's best-known pop star detained for illegal drugs

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-02-26 17:19
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ISTANBUL: Turkey's best-known pop star Tarkan Tevetoglu has been detained by police in an operation for using illegal drugs, local media said on Friday.

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The semi-official Anatolia news agency said the police narcotic teams also detained several individuals late Thursday.

Among those detained are important figures from the art and magazine world. A full-scale investigation is underway in Istanbul, the report said.

Tarkan Tevetoglu, popularly known as Tarkan, is a world music award winning Turkish pop singer. He was born on October 17, 1972, in Alzey, Germany and raised in Turkey.

Tarkan has been known for the use of sexual and romantic themes in his work and has been nicknamed the "Prince of Pop" by the media. He has released several platinum-selling albums during his career, with an estimated 19 million albums sold.

The police regularly carry out anti-drug operations in Istanbul since Turkey is a transit point for drugs between the Middle East, Asia and Europe.