A total of 16 police officers with alleged links to the Gülen Movement have been detained on suspicions of being involved in illegal wiretapping activities, security sources said on Tuesday. The İzmir prosecutor's office said that the probe was launched after receiving complaints filed by several people, including academics, military officers and press members, who were allegedly illegally wiretapped by what the government calls the "parallel state." The prosecutor's office also indicated that the suspects are accused of wiretapping 91 high-level businessmen and officials between 2009 and 2014. Police launched simultaneous operations in the western province of İzmir along with 11 other provinces, including Ankara, Adıyaman and Erzurum. The office said it had issued the warrants for 26 suspected police officers, including high-ranking officers. Of those, so far 16 have been detained in İzmir and taken to the İzmir police headquarters for questioning. To date, hundreds of police officers have been detained and questioned in the alleged wiretapping probe. The continued operations follow a December 2013 probe that led to the arrest of several high-profile figures, including the sons of three former government ministers and leading businesspeople. All those detained in the December operation were later released pending trial. The government has blamed the wiretapping on the Gülen Movement, led by U.S.-based controversial imam Fethullah Gülen, which is also accused of attempting to infiltrate the Turkish state.