ISTANBUL, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police detained 17 individuals early Wednesday as part of a bribery and corruption investigation involving a district municipality in Istanbul, local media reported.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued detention warrants for 19 suspects over allegations of rigging public tenders and receiving bribes from contractors at the Esenyurt Municipality on the city's European side.
Financial crimes police carried out coordinated dawn raids across the city, detaining 17 suspects, while operations are ongoing to apprehend the remaining two, local press reported.
The Esenyurt Municipality has been administered by a government-appointed trustee since late 2024, following the arrest and removal of its elected mayor from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) on terrorism-related charges.
The opposition described the latest raids as part of a broader, ongoing series of operations targeting municipalities run by the CHP. Dozens of CHP mayors and municipal officials have been arrested and removed from office over various corruption, bribery and terrorism-related charges. ■