Turkish court remands 6 suspects for selling information to Mossad

By Zeynep Yesildal, Emrah Gokmen and Orhan Onur Gemici

A Turkish court on Friday remanded in custody six of the seven suspects held earlier this week for selling information to Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, security sources said.

The Istanbul prosecutor's office had conducted the investigation, and requested the court for the arrest of the suspects.

While six suspects were arrested, one was released but put under judicial control.

- Private detective

One of the suspects captured in the joint operation on Tuesday was identified as Hamza Turhan Ayberk, a former civil servant and a private detective, the sources said, adding that Mossad contacted Ayberk through an operative codenamed Victoria.

Turkish intelligence agency MIT established that he was leaking information to Mossad in exchange for money. He had formed a team of people, including public officers, to provide information to Israel, and had also compiled information on Middle Eastern individuals and companies in Türkiye.

- Secret communication applications

Ayberk was trained by Mossad in Belgrade in 2019, and was first used by the Israeli secret service for simple jobs, the sources said.

While he used secret communication apps under the direction of Mossad, he received payments in cryptocurrencies so that they would not be included in official records.

In addition to leaking information, Ayberk also engaged in threats and surveillance activities.

Another suspect was police officer Ismail K., who was previously dismissed from the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Türkiye. Drugs and a precision scale were seized during a search of his house, according to the sources.

Meanwhile, suspect Ozkan S. had been dismissed from the police force, while Omer Burak G. had voluntarily resigned. Others held included Ercan K., a retired police officer; Mehmet Y., a tax office employee, and Funda K., who worked in the private sector.