ISTANBUL (AP) — A police officer died Monday after being shot and seriously wounded during an early morning drug raid in Istanbul, Turkish officials said.
Officer Emre Albayrak died of his wounds in a hospital. He was part of a special operations team carrying out the raid in the Cekmekoy district on Istanbul’s Asian side.
“Our police officer Emre Albayrak, who was seriously injured in a narcotics operation in the Cekmekoy district, could not be saved despite all interventions in the hospital to which he was taken and became a martyr,” Istanbul Governor’s Office said in a statement.
The man who opened fire on police was killed and two other suspects were detained, the office said.
Turkey has experienced a rise in drug-related crime in recent years. There was a 23% rise in drug-related incidents last year compared to 2023, according to a National Police Counter-Narcotics Department report.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a social media post Monday that 970 suspects had been detained in nationwide counter-narcotics operations over the previous week.
FILE - Police form barriers around women participating in a protest marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A woman has been sentenced to four years in prison for blackmailing soccer star Son Heung-min, a South Korean court said Monday.
The woman, identified only as Yang, was charged with extorting 300 million won ($204,000) from Son in 2024 after sending him an ultrasound photo of a baby that she claimed was his and demanding money to stay silent.
She later conspired with a man, identified as Yong, to try to extort more money from Son.
The Seoul Central District Court on Monday said Yang “lied” to Son, although she hadn’t confirmed whose child she was carrying.
The court said Yang denied the charges of extortion and attempted extortion. Yong, who confessed, was sentenced to two years in prison, according to the court.
The 33-year-old Son is among Asia's greatest players. After a decade at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, the South Korean star joined LAFC in August.
South Korean news agency, Yonhap, reported in May that a women in her 20s and a man in his 40s had been detained on suspicion of attempting to blackmail Son in June of last year while he was still at Tottenham.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Los Angeles FC forward Son Heung-Min (7) celebrates a win against over Austin FC during Game 2 in the first round of MLS soccer's Western Conference playoffs on Nov. 2, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Stephen Spillman, File)
