Authorities have clamped down on a gang of Syrians accused of collecting information on Syrian rebels and predominantly Turkman areas in Syria and selling it to foreign intelligence services.The Turkish daily Milliyet reported that seven men were detained in a joint operation by the National Directorate of Intelligence and Turkish National Police in Mersin, a southern province near the Syrian border. The operation was carried out in the first week of September but was only revealed by the media on Sunday.Menedi Alsaid, 24, was the gang's leader. Alsaid and others were reportedly selling vital information about rebels and Turkmens in Syria to intelligence services of "Turkey's neighboring countries and some Gulf countries," Milliyet reported, without revealing any names. Seven suspects were under surveillance by authorities in Mersin and they are also accused of collecting information on Turkey. Alsaid was released with judiciary control and sent to a detention center in the southern province of Adana where he is expected to be deported, according to media reports.Milliyet's report says Alsaid, a Sunni Arab from Syria's Hasakah, partially admitted that he exchanged information with members of foreign intelligence services and received money in exchange. Turkey, the northern neighbor of Syria, is known for its staunch opposition to the Assad regime and hosts meetings with the Syrian opposition. The country is also involved in a train-and-equip program for Syrian rebels in cooperation with the United States.The country is also home to more than 1.9 million Syrians including relatives of those who fought in Syria's civil war. There are media reports that the border cities are rife with foreign spies although no active foreign agents have been detected in Turkey since the conflict escalated into an all-out civil war. In March, a man claimed to be working for Canadian intelligence and was accused of helping three Britons to cross into Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). He was captured in southern Turkey.