Turkish police nab 7 over selling intel to Mossad

ISTANBUL

In a joint operation by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and the police, the security forces have apprehended seven suspects for selling information about individuals living in Türkiye to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.

A MİT probe revealed that Mossad recruited private detectives to monitor the Israeli intelligence agency targets residing in Türkiye, security sources stated on Feb. 2.

Turkish intelligence officials discovered that the private detectives conducted a series of activities including biographical information collection, reconnaissance, research, photo-video documentation, live tracking and placement of tracking devices.

Upon the warrants issued by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Turkish police's counterterrorism units and MİT branch officers carried out raids in Istanbul and the western province of İzmir. Seven out of the nine individuals subject to arrest warrants were apprehended.

Two of the suspects were earlier arrested in the past as part of the same investigation, sources added.

Last month, 34 people were also detained by Turkish police on suspicion of spying for Israel. They were accused of planning to carry out activities that included reconnaissance and “pursuing, assaulting and kidnapping” foreign nationals living in Türkiye.

At the time, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç said most of the suspects were charged with committing “political or military espionage” on behalf of Israeli intelligence.

According to local media reports, the Mossad suspects utilized a mechanism called the Israel Cyber Operations Unit to gather information on Palestinian citizens with Hamas connections in Türkiye deemed dangerous by the Israeli authorities.

In a bid to avoid suspicion, individuals collecting information were chosen from Palestinian and Syrian nationals, receiving nominal amounts ranging from $100 to $200 for every shared information.

Further revelations during the suspects' interrogations included Mossad operatives sharing photos of certain stores on Istanbul's Istiklal Avenue and Süleymaniye Mosque. Additionally, it was claimed that a report on Türkiye's most effective GSM operator was compiled at the request of intelligence agencies.

Ronen Bar, the head of Israel’s domestic Shin Bet security agency, said last December that his organization was prepared to target Hamas anywhere, including in Lebanon, Türkiye and Qatar.