Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has busted a family of Turkish spies working for the Israeli intelligence service Mossad in Germany, Georgia and Türkiye, according to a report in the Turkish newspaper Sabah.
Turkish authorities arrested Ahmet Ersin Tumlucalı, a private detective, in April for leading a Mossad cell of eight operatives, including his wife Benan Tumlucalı, stepdaughter Dila Sultan Şimşek, son Erkan Tumlucalı and sister-in-law Berna Çetin, Sabah reporter Abdurrahman Şimşek wrote.
Tumlucalı’s spy ring is accused of following and photographing foreign nationals on behalf of Mossad in an ongoing investigation at the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of Istanbul.
Six suspects in the cell are charged with collecting secret state information for political or military espionage, while two others were released on probation. Another suspect of Lebanese origin is still at large.
MIT pursued Tumlucalı and his accomplices in Germany, Georgia, Türkiye and Lebanon before capturing them in an operation in Istanbul.
It was the first time the agency busted a spy network operating in Europe and marked an increasing crackdown on foreign intelligence operations in Türkiye, too.
Since January, Turkish authorities have detained or arrested and charged dozens of people suspected of having ties to Israel’s Mossad. Six people were charged in March.
According to Sabah’s report, Tumlucalı is believed to have been involved with Mossad since 2011, when a Mossad operative code-named "Jorg Neubac" and living in Belgium made first contact with him.
Jorg introduced himself as an assistant lawyer to Tumlucalı, who owned an insurance firm. He regularly corresponded with him via email or Skype.
Later, another Mossad operative code-named "Gavin Alto" took over as Tumlucalı’s "handler."
Jorg’s first task for Tumlucalı was a simple research file and later, he summoned Tumlucalı abroad. Tumlucalı met with Jorg in Vienna in 2011 and Gavin in Frankfurt in February 2017.
Gavin conveyed instructions to Tumlucalı in meetings in Berlin in November 2017, Zurich in May 2018 and Vienna in April 2019.
Both Mossad agents refrained from traveling to Türkiye for security reasons and opted to conduct their meetings with Tumlucalı in third countries, sometimes at luxury hotels or sushi restaurants.
Their contact lasted until 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Sabah wrote that Tumlucalı and his spy ring mainly used Proton Mail, an encrypted email service, to communicate with and relay intelligence to their Mossad handlers overseas. Office Word files created in Proton Mail can be encrypted and the content is protected from third-party access.
In addition to Europe, the Tumlucalı-led network was actively tracking Mossad targets in Georgia and Lebanon, as well. In Türkiye, they surveilled and photographed three foreign nationals Israel was targeting.
Mossad allegedly chose Tumlucalı’s family because his son, stepdaughter and sister-in-law were born in Germany, while Tumlucalı himself was born in Türkiye but raised in Germany. Their German passports allowed them freedom of movement in Europe.
Tumlucalı was extensively assisted by his wife Berna in reporting his surveillance activities, delivering documents she prepared to Jorg and Gavin personally.
Mossad also had Tumlucalı conduct reconnaissance on Feb. 23-27, 2019 and April 2-9, 2019, in Georgia and footage of his target gambling in a casino was provided to Israeli intelligence.
Elsewhere, Tumlucalı had his friend Andy Grutko, who lived in Switzerland, track Mossad targets in Germany.
He obtained certain formal documents in Lebanon to send to his Mossad handlers.
Tumlucalı followed, photographed and gathered intelligence on a Mossad-targeted foreign national who came to Istanbul. Tumlucalı even brought his wife and stepdaughter to the hotel the target was staying at in the Taksim district to take pictures.
Tumlucalı was paid in cash by the two Mossad operatives during their in-person meetings, although the exact amounts weren’t revealed.
In online transactions, Tumlucalı received payments between 2011 and 2014 into the bank account of the Axom International Research and Consultancy Firm. From 2014 to 2019, the payments were transferred to Berna Tumlucalı’s bank accounts.
Mossad paid Tumlucalı 300,000 euros ($324,214) for all his espionage activities.
Mossad activity in Türkiye
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.
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.