Turkish authorities have detained seven people suspected of selling information to Israeli intelligence agency Mossad via private detectives, security sources said Friday.
Acting on warrants issued by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Turkish police's counterterrorism units and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) branch officers carried out raids in Istanbul and the west coast city of Izmir, sources said, weeks after some 34 suspects were detained in a similar operation targeting a Mossad cell.
MIT’s probe found Mossad was using private detectives to track its targets in Türkiye, who would collect biographical information and documents, conduct reconnaissance, take pictures, and track and wiretap targets.
Two of the suspects had been arrested in the past as part of the same investigation, sources added.
Last month, 34 people were 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.
Mossad is said to have recruited Palestinians and Syrian nationals in Türkiye as part of an operation against foreigners living in Türkiye.
Following the Jan. 2 arrests, Anadolu Agency (AA) cited a prosecution document as saying the operation targeted “Palestinian nationals and their families ... within the scope of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
The head of Israel’s domestic Shin Bet security agency said in December that his organization was prepared to target Hamas anywhere, including in Lebanon, Türkiye and Qatar.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned Israel of “serious consequences” if Israel pressed ahead with its threat to attack Hamas officials on Turkish soil.
In December 2022, MIT detained 68 suspects in an operation targeting private detectives and technical operatives working for Mossad.
