Adil Serdar Saçan (21 September 1962 – 24 May 2023) was a Turkish police chief who oversaw numerous high-profile investigations. He supervised the Istanbul police force's Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Department (), which he established in 1998. Saçan was detained on 23 September 2008 for allegedly being a member of

Ergenekon Ergenekon is a Turkish term that may refer to: *The Epic of Ergenekon, the founding myth of Turkic and Mongolic peoples * Necabettin Ergenekon (1926-2020), Turkish officer *Ergenekon, Turkish name of Agios Chariton, a village in Cyprus *Ergenekon ...

; an illegal gang. In August 2013 he was sentenced to 14 years and six months as part of the

Ergenekon trials The Ergenekon trials or the Ergenekon conspiracy, were a series of high-profile trials which took place in 2008–2016 in Turkey in which 275 people, including military officers, journalists and opposition lawmakers, all alleged members of Erge ...

Background and personal life

Adil Serdar Saçan was born on 21 September 1962 in

Erzurum Province Erzurum Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. Its area is 25,006 km2, and its population is 749,754 (2022). The capital of the province is the city of Erzurum. It is the fourth lar ...

, Turkey. He graduated from police academy in 1985 as the top student. He had a master's degree in public administration from

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

. In June 2008, he and his son Kerim Bedri survived an accident involving a truck. He died in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

on 24 May 2023, at the age of 60.

Career

Saçan led 600 investigations, including those of the Malki murders, Albayrak Holding, and

Adnan Oktar Adnan Oktar (; born 2 February 1956), also known as Adnan Hoca or Harun Yahya, is a Turkish cult leader and Muslim televangelist. Between the 2000s and late 2010s, he was engaged in "a massive campaign" of proselytizing Westerners to Islam, pr ...

. He has led raids against

Sedat Peker Reis Sedat Peker (; born 26 June 1971) is a Turkish mafia boss and whistle-blower who has made various allegations about Turkish politicians and numerous government engagements in illegal activities through his own YouTube channel. He has describe ...

Alaattin Çakıcı Aladdin (, commonly ) (various spellings and transliterations) is a male given name which means "nobility of faith" or "nobility of creed/religion". It is one of a large class of names ending with ad-Din. The name may refer to: Given name *Ala al ...

, Sedat Şahin, Ayvaz Korkmaz, Kürşat Yılmaz, and the Ergin brothers.

Ergenekon investigation

In 2001, he led the team that interrogated

Tuncay Güney Tuncay Güney (; born 25 August 1972 in Kargı For details, sefolder 398of the indictment's annex.), code name "Ipek" (silk), is a Turkish citizen of Dönmeh Jewish origin who claims to have infiltrated the Turkish Gendarmerie's intelligence ...

, exposing a criminal network called Ergenekon. The Ergenekon investigation at the time was allegedly torpedoed due to the intervention of vested interests. Saçan suspected

Veli Küçük Veli Küçük (born 9 May 1944)Today's Zaman, 16 June 2009Ultranationalist Ergenekon suspect is of Armenian origin, magazine reveals/ref> is a retired Turkish brigadier-general. He is thought to be the founder of the JİTEM intelligence arm of t ...

, an Ergenekon defendant; he was found in possession of documents intended to blackmail Saçan. Since the interrogation, Saçan has been fired six times and sued 39 times (acquitted on 36 counts, as of August 2008). In September 2008, he himself was detained on charges of being a member. He was interrogated by prosecutor Mehmet Ali Pekgüzel for nearly twelve hours, in reference to the Gülenist clique inside the police force, and the thwarting of the Ergenekon investigation in 2001. He shared a cell with

Tuncay Özkan Ahmet Tuncay Özkan (born 14 August 1966) is a Turkish journalist, writer and politician. He was arrested on September 27, 2008, in relation to the odatv case of the Ergenekon trials, and in August 2013 he was sentenced to aggravated life impri ...

and his former detainee, Sedat Peker. The Fatih Second Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced Saçan to five months in prison on charges of taking confidential investigation documents into his own possession. On 5 August 2013, he was sentenced to 14 years and six months as part of the

Death

Saçan died of lung cancer on 24 May 2023, at the age of 60.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sacan, Adil Serdar 1962 births 2023 deaths People from Erzurum Province Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni Turkish police chiefs People convicted in the Ergenekon trials Deaths from lung cancer in Turkey