Police arrest 10 alleged spies operating for foreign intels

ISTANBUL

Istanbul police have apprehended 10 individuals suspected of engaging in espionage activities on behalf of foreign intelligence services, the Interior Ministry reported on Feb. 22.

The arrests were the result of coordinated efforts between the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and police.

According to MİT, a three-person cell was apprehended for allegedly spying for the French intelligence service over the course of a year. One of the suspects, identified as Ahmed Katie, was intercepted by authorities as he was preparing to leave the country for France, the ministry said in a press release.

Katie had reportedly been gathering sensitive information and feeding misinformation regarding Türkiye's treatment of Syrian refugees and immigration policies, it added.

The suspect, described by authorities as a "so-called activist journalist," was accused of trying to "put Türkiye in a difficult situation in Europe."

The statement alleged that Katie, who had sought asylum at the French consulate general in Istanbul, was offered asylum on the condition of engaging in military and political espionage against Türkiye by the French foreign intelligence service.

The ministry said he operated under the directives of the French intelligence through the managers of a Paris-based NGO called Collectif des Amis d'Alep (Friends of Aleppo Collective).

Katie was reported missing in last November for more than two weeks before Turkish security forces alerted his lawyers that he was taken to the police station in mid-December for official questioning on his activities.

Meanwhile, seven other individuals were arrested for reportedly gathering information on behalf of Chinese intelligence services.

As part of the investigation led by the terrorism and organized crimes bureau of the public prosecutor's office in Istanbul, authorities seized a significant amount of digital materials and currencies during the operations, along with two unlicensed pistols.