Türkiye said Friday it deported a French national working for the PKK terrorist group in France.
Denis Daniel Korkmaz was caught in a joint operation by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and local police in the southeastern Şanlıurfa province.
He had an active role in the PKK branch in France, security sources said. He helped raise funds, find recruits and transport supplies and people, including high-ranking PKK members for the terrorists in France.
Korkmaz had been under MIT's radar for a long while, sources said, adding that his capture uncovered a lot of key information about the PKK's operations in France.
The PKK has been infiltrating European countries by exploiting the legal gaps and vague policies to recruit militants and finance its activities, according to Turkish security sources.
The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984 to achieve a so-called Kurdish self-rule in southeastern regions and is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara, as well as the United States and the European Union.
PKK terrorists see Europe as a strategic front against Türkiye and utilize it as a logistical, financial and recruitment base, as European countries remain silent and even support them.
Belgium is the so-called headquarters of the PKK in Europe, but it also carries out propaganda activities in Finland, Sweden, France, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany.
It has been banned in Germany since 1993 but it remains active in the country with nearly 15,000 followers among the Kurdish immigrant population, according to German intelligence agency BfV.
BfV chief Thomas Haldenwang in June revealed the number of people supporting the PKK increased from 14,500 to 15,000 people in Germany this year.
Rather than committing serious crimes, the group has focused more on propaganda, recruitment and fundraising activities, raking in millions annually.
The tolerance of European countries to PKK’s activities allowed them to take daring steps and raise their voices.
Türkiye has long decried tolerance for the terrorist group and its supporters in Europe and calls for effective measures against the PKK to prevent future terrorist attacks.