Security forces on Friday detained a private detective accused of working for Israel's national intelligence agency Mossad in a joint operation with prosecutors and police in Istanbul, according to security sources.
The National Intelligence Organization of Türkiye, or MIT, said the suspect, identified as Serkan Çiçek, was taken into custody during the operation code-named "Metron Activity."
Security officials said he had been working for Mossad and was in contact with Faysal Rasheed, a member of Israel's Online Operations Center.
Çiçek allegedly admitted to carrying out surveillance in Istanbul, at Rasheed's request, on a Palestinian activist who opposes Israel's Middle East policies.
According to Turkish intelligence, Çiçek – whose original name is Muhammet Fatih Keles – changed his name after falling heavily into debt and left his business career to establish a private firm, Pandora Detective Agency, in 2020.
He is said to have worked with Musa Kuş, who was sentenced to 19 years in prison for spying for Israel, and with lawyer Tuğrulhan Dip, both of whom were found guilty of selling personal data from public records to detectives for profit.
Officials said Çiçek drew the attention of Mossad after launching his detective work. On July 31, Rasheed allegedly contacted him via WhatsApp, introducing himself as an employee of a foreign law firm.
Rasheed then tasked Çiçek with conducting a four-day surveillance mission on a Palestinian activist living in Başakşehir, on the outskirts of Istanbul. Çiçek was reportedly paid $4,000 in cryptocurrency on Aug. 1 to carry out the assignment.
Çiçek learned that the target was a Palestinian activist after researching the name online. Despite knowing his associate Kuş had been jailed for spying for Israel, he accepted the job.
Authorities said Çiçek visited the address given by Rasheed but was unable to find the target. He entered the housing complex on Aug. 1-2 under the pretense of looking for an apartment to rent and carried out reconnaissance, but failed to gather the information Mossad had requested.
On Aug. 3, Rasheed cut off contact, according to officials.
Turkish intelligence, in recent years, has uncovered several spy networks operated by independent groups, terrorist organizations like Daesh, or foreign intelligence agencies in Türkiye.
Also in October, authorities in Istanbul indicted seven suspects for conducting espionage for Chinese intelligence, while in September, 37 people accused of working for Israel’s Mossad intelligence were handed prison sentences ranging from six to eight years.
According to Turkish security sources, Mossad often uses online communication applications to recruit operatives to spy on Palestinians and other foreign nationals living in Türkiye.
