Turkey star Tufan released after arrest in car probe

Istanbul (AFP) – Istanbul police on Tuesday detained Turkish international and Fenerbahce midfielder Ozan Tufan in a probe into the illegal import of luxury cars, releasing the football star after questioning.

Prosecutors in the Istanbul district of Bakirkoy issued 46 arrest warrants for suspects including Tufan, the state-run Anadolu news agency said. 

Tufan, 22, was then among an unspecified number of suspects detained at their home addresses.

Anadolu said that the investigation concerned the illegal smuggling of luxury vehicles from abroad, without giving further details.

Tufan appeared to have been detained on suspicion of buying second hand a car that had been smuggled into Turkey.

He told police that he did not know that the car had been smuggled and would himself make a complaint against the sellers, Anadolu said. He was then released, it added.

In a statement, Fernerbahce confirmed that Tufan had been taken in by police for questioning about the purchase of a second hand car. 

It said he had now left the police station and after the completion of the legal formalities was now seen as a plaintiff in the case.

Tufan has since 2014 made over 30 senior appearances for his country after coming up through the juniors.

Until 2015 he played in the top-flight side of his home city of Bursa, south of Istanbul, but since has been a regular for Istanbul giants Fenerbahce.