File photo of former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn

ISTANBUL, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police have detained seven people, including four pilots, in Istanbul in the probe into the flee of former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn from Japan to Lebanon via the city, Turkish media reported Thursday.

Among the detainees are two airport workers with a ground service company and an operation manager of a cargo company, both privately-owned, the state-run Anadolu Agency said.

It said the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has been looking into the escape of Ghosn from Istanbul's Ataturk Airport with a private jet earlier this week.

Ghosn said in a statement on Tuesday that he had fled to Beirut, capital of Lebanon, to escape "injustice and political persecution."

The former Nissan chairman was awaiting trial after he was arrested in Tokyo in 2018 over charges of financial misconduct.