Security forces on Tuesday launched a new round of operations in separate investigations against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which attempted to overthrow the government on July 15, 2016, through its infiltrators in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
A supermarket chain and secret networks of the terrorist group accused of financing FETÖ were the target of the crackdown that indicated FETÖ still seeks revival nine years after it spectacularly failed to seize power.
In an Istanbul-based investigation, security forces detained 26 suspects, including Z.D., owner of Hakmar and Tatbak, a supermarket and pastry shop chain primarily operating on Istanbul’s Asian side. Authorities also appointed trustees to the chain on the grounds of financing FETÖ. The operation was a joint effort between the Istanbul police and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), involving 9 provinces.
Security sources said Z.D., whose chain operates some 800 branches and C.G., a former police officer fired on suspicion of links to FETÖ earlier, have been under surveillance for a while on suspicion of funding the terrorist group. Sources said Z.D. was quite loyal to the group, quoted on one occasion as saying he was ready to sacrifice his fortune for FETÖ leader Fetullah Gülen, “to whom I owe my rise in the business.” A search of Z.D.’s residence found materials linking him to FETÖ, sources said. FETÖ is known for its widespread infiltration into state institutions in the past and has also wielded influence in business circles as well, through a now-defunct business chamber that its members founded. Past investigations have shown that FETÖ also threatened businesspeople who refused to “donate” to the group by harming their businesses.
Z.D. is accused of receiving instructions from FETÖ members abroad for the transfer of funds to the group’s members and utilizing his businesses accordingly. The suspect had already received numerous complaints for collecting donations to FETÖ under the guise of charity. Sources reported that he also employed individuals with ties to the group in his supermarket chain. Operations were held to capture Z.D. and other suspects in Istanbul, Ankara, Sakarya, Osmaniye, Bayburt, Giresun, Malatya, Yalova and Bolu. Along with Z.D., C.G. was detained. Security forces searching the headquarters of Hakmar in Istanbul’s Sancaktepe district found a multitude of doors equipped with encryption systems and top-of-the-line security systems. Sources said such doors installed adjacent to each other were used by the terrorist group to gain time against police raids. This practice was also used by the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), another terrorist group. Sources said secure rooms in the building were used for secret meetings of FETÖ members.
The investigation found that Z.D. utilized Hakmar and Tatbak companies for transferring funds to FETÖ. C.G., who was also an employee of Hakmar, visited several cities to hand over cash to members of the group.
In another operation based in Istanbul, authorities detained 51 suspects. Operations were held in 15 provinces and targeted a restructured network of FETÖ, whose members fled or went into hiding after an intensified crackdown on the group following the 2016 coup attempt. The suspects were members of a network who allegedly infiltrated the Ministry of National Education. The investigation that led to detentions on Tuesday found that they regularly held meetings, either through videoconference or in a location in Istanbul, to reinforce bonds between members, sought to recruit new members and arranged marriages between members, a well-known practice of FETÖ. Earlier investigations and confessions by former FETÖ members had revealed that the group’s so-called “imams” or handlers forced members into marriage with each other and even picked spouses for them. Security forces found that five suspects wanted in the investigation had fled Türkiye earlier, while operations are underway to capture seven suspects at large.
Police discovered a stash of cash, books written by Gülen and digital evidence regarding the suspects’ affiliation with FETÖ during the search of premises raided during the operations.
In an operation based in the western city of Izmir, where Fetullah Gülen rose to prominence as a popular preacher in the 1960s, authorities issued detention warrants for 371 suspects. Two hundred forty-four of them have been detained so far in operations across 60 provinces. The suspects are accused of financing FETÖ. Financial crimes police discovered that suspects sent cash to fugitive FETÖ members abroad.
Security sources reported that the suspects allegedly faked online food sales to transfer cash to fellow FETÖ members secretly. A manhunt is underway for 61 suspects in the case, while 79 suspects have been identified as being at large abroad.
The investigation revealed that the suspects set up an illegal online system and had a monetary flow of approximately TL 7.5 million between themselves and fugitive FETÖ members in North America and Europe.
Elsewhere, authorities ordered the detention of 14 suspects in seven provinces as part of an investigation into exam fraud in 2010 and 2011 for admission to schools training gendarmerie officers. The suspects are accused of obtaining questions for exams beforehand, a common tactic employed by FETÖ for infiltrating state institutions.
Separately, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Tuesday that 306 suspects were captured in operations against FETÖ over the past two days in 64 provinces.
