Turkey arrests 7 suspected of selling information to Israeli Mossad

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
5 Mar 2024 13:34

A video released by the Interior Ministry depicts police conducting raids on residences in Istanbul, confiscating firearms, bags of narcotics, and electronic devices.

A Turkish special force police officer stands guard at Ortakoy, in Istanbul, Turkey. (AFP)

Turkish authorities have arrested seven individuals, including a former public servant working as a private detective, over suspicions of providing information to the Israeli Mossad intelligence service.

The detained detective is believed to have gathered intelligence on Middle Eastern entities in Turkey, employing tactics, such as placing tracking devices and conducting surveillance, according to the MIT intelligence agency.

A video released by the Interior Ministry depicted police conducting raids on residences in Istanbul, confiscating firearms, bags of narcotics, and electronic devices.

"We will never allow espionage activities to be carried out within the borders of our country. We will catch them one by one and bring them to justice," Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a post on X.

The Turkish detective underwent training by Mossad in Belgrade, Serbia, and received payments in cryptocurrency, which were not recorded in official documents, as per MIT.

Dive deeper

Following the launch of the ongoing Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, "Tel Aviv" declared that all leaders of the Hamas Resistance movements across the world have become assassination targets, including those residing in Turkey, Lebanon, and Qatar.

Responding to the public threats, Ankara warned the occupation entity of "serious consequences" if it attempts to target the Hamas officials.

In February, seven people suspected of spying for the Israeli Mossad were arrested by Turkish security on Friday, the state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.

In January, the Turkish police forces arrested 34 people on suspicion of spying for "Israel," who were later also accused of planning and “pursuing, assaulting and kidnapping” foreign citizens living in the country, including members of the Palestinian Resistance.

At the time, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said most of the detained elements were charged with committing “political or military espionage” on behalf of the Mossad.