Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) is credited with another operation that discovered a six-person cell working for Russian intelligence. The discovery, in March 2021, was only made public on Tuesday.
MIT was also behind the discovery of another six suspects, including four Russian nationals, accused of planning assassinations of Chechen dissidents living in Turkey in October 2021, which led to operations by Istanbul police.
In March 2021, the intelligence service uncovered another network including two Turkish nationals. This cell was led by K.D., a Russian national who also had traveled to Turkey in 2014 for an assassination attempt. In 2015, the man, who used fake IDs, was deported after charges of espionage were brought against him. K.D., a frequent traveler to Turkey – visiting the country 74 times since 2011 – returned this time with Russian citizens M.A. and B.K. M.A. is a former police officer. The trio were allegedly pursuing three other Russian citizens accused of fraud in their country and reportedly discovered that two of them were in Turkey.
Their targets were D.S. and A.K. two former bureaucrats of the Russian Defense Ministry who were accused of illegally selling timbers from trees in military zones to China, in a fraud amounting to 4 billion rubles (around $65.3 million). The cell was in contact with a Russian intelligence official known only as A.
Three suspects were captured in a hotel in Istanbul’s Fatih district, a popular location for traders and tourists from Russia and neighboring countries. All six suspects are currently in prison on charges of obtaining confidential state information for the purpose of political or military espionage. Among other suspects in the cell were a Turkish civil servant and a Turkish citizen identified as S.Ç. and nicknamed “Lone Wolf.” Two other Turks are accused of providing “local intelligence” for the Russians.
MIT had stepped up operations against operatives of foreign intelligence services in recent years. Last year, two separate operations netted 15 Mossad operatives and a network of nine suspects working for Iranian intelligence.
In February, an indictment against Russian nationals accused of assassination attempts against Chechen dissidents in Turkey was made public, and they are facing prison terms up to 33 years. The suspects are accused of a plot to assassinate a Chechen dissident, code-named "Abdulhakim," who lives in Turkey. They allegedly acted upon the orders of Adam Delimkhanov, a lawmaker from Russia's State Duma and a cousin of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, and Kazbek Dukuzov.
Usually quiet on its work, MIT occasionally publishes broad reports annually about its activities. One such report in 2020 highlighted that foreign intelligence activities had increased. In a rare statement attached to the report, MIT Chair Hakan Fidan has stated that the organization "has shouldered active duties in accordance with our country’s interests in conflict zones, increased foreign intelligence activities, carried the fight against terrorism to an international dimension and uncovered intelligence activities that targeted our country, and has made technical intelligence part of its main component of work."
"As MIT, we strive to produce game-changing strategies, develop new methods in the field of intelligence, blend our own techniques in the light of the changes in the world and adapt to changes in the fastest and most flexible manner," Fidan stated.
With continuous counterespionage operations, Turkey has become a safe haven for asylum-seekers and political dissidents targeted by intelligence services of other countries. Many attacks and assassination attempts by intelligence services against dissidents, journalists and civilians in Turkey have been prevented by MIT.
