A Turkish private detective and his wife were paid thousands of euros every time they spied on a target for Israeli intelligence service Mossad in Germany, according to a report in the Turkish newspaper Sabah.
Turkish authorities arrested Ahmet Ersin Tumlucalı and his wife, Benan Tumlucalı, last Wednesday on charges of collecting and selling information to Mossad about targeted individuals and companies in Türkiye after raids by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and police in Istanbul.
There was no immediate comment from Israel.
The couple's arrest marks an increasing crackdown on foreign intelligence operations in Türkiye. Since January, authorities have detained or arrested and charged dozens of people suspected of having ties to Israel's Mossad intelligence agency. Six people were charged last month.
A Turkish official said Tumlucalı and his wife are believed to have been involved with Mossad from 2011 to 2020. Tumlucalı regularly met in person with two Mossad operatives, code-named "Jorg Neubac" and" Gavin Alto," in Vienna, Zurich, Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin and used private communication channels to keep in touch with them.
The official said the detective "earned significant income" from this and formed a network of nine people. Members of the network confessed, and the detective and his wife were arrested, while six others were released on parole.
Under Mossad's instructions, Tumlucalı conducted research and reconnaissance on the agency's targets he followed in Türkiye, Georgia, Germany and Middle Eastern countries. He also supplied Mossad with official documents of commercial taxis, trucks and lorries from Middle Eastern countries to be used in its operations.
Sabah wrote that the detective and his wife were often ordered by Neubach to follow the vehicles of targets Mossad picked in Germany and were paid 25,000 euros ($27,085) for every pursuit.
Documents seized during MIT raids revealed that the couple would closely follow a Middle Eastern couple traveling in Hamburg either by car or on foot and submit a detailed report, including a series of photographs, to Neubach.
Video evidence, too, showed Tumlucalıwouldn'tt shy away from observing targets from close range either.
Bank account summaries confirmed Benan Tumlucalı would receive the payment from Mossad after a pursuit to cover the couple's expenses, ranging from travel, accommodations and car rental to tracking, surveillance and license plate investigations.
Türkiye has recently ramped up targeting alleged Mossad members inside the country.
Ankara is concerned 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 February, more private detectives were arrested on similar suspicions. And in early January, 34 people were also detained by Turkish police for allegedly spying for Israel. The suspects arrested in January have been 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 also recruited Palestinians and Syrian nationals in Türkiye as part of an operation against foreigners living in Türkiye.
Following the Jan. 2 arrests, Anadolu Agency (AA) cited a prosecution document as saying the operation targeted "Palestinian nationals and their families ... within the scope of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
Türkiye and Israel resumed frozen relations last year after years of tensions due to Israel's acts of aggression targeting Palestinians. Yet, ties deteriorated again after Oct. 7, the start of the new round of the Palestine-Israel conflict. Ankara is one of the strongest critics of Israel's military actions in Gaza.
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.
Turkish and Israeli leaders have traded public barbs since Israel's war on the Palestinian resistance group Hamas began in October.
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.
