Just as the details were emerging about a massive operation against municipality staff accused of taking bribes in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district, police launched another raid on Friday. This time the municipality of Maltepe, another district on the city’s Asian side, was at the heart of the operation.

Sixteen suspects, including former and current senior officials at the municipality, were detained. The suspects are among 18 wanted, while a manhunt is underway for two others. Among the detained were two former deputy mayors and the current director of the zabıta (a municipal department in charge of inspecting the businesses). The former head of a public office overseeing title deeds was also detained.

The suspects are charged with running a bribery scheme, mediating the bribes between recipients and "donors" and forgery of official documents.

Media outlets said the two former deputy mayors were currently working in other municipal jobs. One was named as a "design director" at Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) while another suspect was the current media director of Maltepe municipality. The former head of the title deed office, on the other hand, was working as director of the same office for the city’s Zeytinburnu district.