Türkiye authorities have claimed to have uncovered a network of Mossad agents in the country, Russian television channel RT said quoting news channel A Haber.
According to the report, the suspected Israeli intelligence operatives had allegedly been gathering information on foreign nationals residing in Türkiye.
The media outlet claimed on July 3, 2023 that Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) had for months been monitoring the clandestine activities of the Israeli intelligence services.
Seven people have reportedly been detained as a result, with all of them admitting to working for Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency. A total of 56 individuals comprising nine cells are believed to be involved, A Haber reported.
According to the channel, their supposed tasks included tracking certain foreign citizens living in Türkiye, using GPS devices, wi-fi and password-capturing tools.
On top of that, the alleged network, whose operational base is thought to be in Tel Aviv, were setting up fake websites in various languages, including Arabic, to lure their victims and make them reveal their personal details, location and IP addresses, the article claimed.
The suspected Mossad agents also allegedly used fake news websites, with stories selected specifically to grab the target’s attention, A Haber reported. On clicking an infected link, the unsuspecting target would allegedly give access to their cell phone to a Mossad spyware program.
The Turkish outlet is also claiming that the supposed spies and their Israeli handlers had utilized hundreds of disposable internet data lines belonging to fictitious individuals from Spain, England, Germany, Sweden, Malaysia, Indonesia and Belgium for communication purposes.
On top of their alleged operations inside Türkiye, the alleged Mossad operatives, most of whom are presumably Turkish residents of Arab origin, had also been sent on intelligence-gathering missions to neighboring Syria and Lebanon, the report suggested.
It cited one such case, in which a Mossad operative had allegedly obtained the coordinates of a building in Lebanon that was housing high-profile figures from the Hezbollah militant group.
The news channel claimed that the Israeli intelligence service had been training its would-be agents in Thailand. To cover their tracks, the supposed Mossad operatives would take a devious route, flying first to Serbia, then to Dubai and finally arriving in the South-Asian country, A Haber reports.
