Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office have issued an arrest warrant for 18 police officers detained in an illegal wiretapping probe during a recent police operation.

According to reports, the court ruled the arrest of officers was necessary as the suspects acted in a criminally organized manner, and there is a chance that they may spoil the evidence, coerce others or flee the country.

Last week, a total of 53 police officers had been detained as part of the investigation and 29 of these were released following testimony.

The investigation was launched simultaneously in 12 cities, including Kırklareli, Kırşehir, Kastamonu, Karabük, Antalya, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Diyarbakır, and Ankara.

Suspects are allegedly members of the Gülen Movement, deemed a terrorist organization by the government, and are accused of wiretapping thousands of people, including senior government officials, allegedly to topple the democratically elected government.

The Gülen Movement is a transnational movement accused of wiretapping government officials, encrypted phones and infiltrating state institutions with the aim of overthrowing the government. It has hundreds of private schools in over 160 countries, including the U.S., Europe, Asia and Africa, and has faced scrutiny in countries including Russia, Azerbaijan, Germany and the U.S.