Turkish prosecutors on Monday remanded in custody seven suspects after they were detained for allegedly selling information to the Israeli spy agency Mossad, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported, citing judicial and security sources.
In court, seven out of the nine suspects, who gave statements to the public prosecutor, were remanded, while two were referred to a criminal judge with a request for judicial control measures, said the sources, who asked not to be named as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) found in its probe that Mossad was collecting biographical information, doing reconnaissance, photo and video documentation, live tracking and installing tracking devices through private detectives in Türkiye.
Acting on warrants issued by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Turkish police's counterterrorism units and MIT branch officers rounded up the suspects in raids in Istanbul and the west coast city of Izmir last week.
Two other suspects had separately been arrested previously as part of the same investigation.
Türkiye has recently ramped up targeting alleged Mossad members inside the country.
Ankara fears Mossad is recruiting operatives on Turkish territory to target foreign nationals, with media reports saying certain Hamas members are in the country. Türkiye maintains links with the Hamas movement and rejects classifying Hamas as terrorists, unlike European countries and the United States.
In January, Turkish police detained 34 people 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, 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.