Turkiye detains seven suspected of selling information to Israel's Mossad - Anadolu

Turkish police have detained seven people, including a private detective, suspected of selling information to Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, state-owned Anadolu news agency said on Tuesday.

Anadolu cited security sources as saying the private detective, a former public servant, was suspected of gathering information on Middle Eastern companies and individuals in Turkiye, placing tracking devices and engaging in surveillance, Reuters reports.

The sources said the detentions were part of an operation carried out by Turkiye’s national intelligence agency, MIT, and Istanbul counter-terror police.

Ankara made no official statement on the operation. Israel did not immediately comment on the Anadolu report.

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The Turkish detective was trained by Mossad in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, and received payments in crypto currency that did not appear in official records, the sources said.

A Turkish court, in January, ordered the arrest of 15 people and the deportation of eight others suspected of having links to Mossad and targeting Palestinians living in Turkiye. In February, Turkiye detained seven suspected of selling information to Mossad.

Turkish and Israeli leaders have traded public barbs since Israel’s war with the Palestinian group, Hamas, began last October. Turkiye has warned Israel of “serious consequences” if it tries to hunt down Hamas members living outside the Palestinian Territories, including in Turkiye.

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