This is the Role of 2 Israeli Mossad Intelligence Arrested in Turkey, One of Them is a Mining Entrepreneur

JAKARTA - Turkey has arrested two people who work as Mossad intelligence agents in Israel. The arrests of Mehmet Budak Derya and Veysel Kerimoglu came after the two were monitored for a long time by the Turkish intelligence agency, MIT.

Citing Anadolu on Friday, February 6, a Turkish security source explained that Derya was a mining engineer and a marble mine entrepreneur.

Derya is suspected of first drawing the attention of the Mossad in 2005 when he opened a marble quarry near the southern coastal city of Mersin and began trading abroad.

However, Derya was only contacted for the first time through someone named Ali Ahmed Yassin in 2012.

Based on the investigators' statements, Yassin ran an Israeli shell company, then invited Derya to a business meeting in Europe in 2013. That's when Derya allegedly first met a Mossad agent.

During the meeting, the investigators said, they discussed the marble trade and suggested that he hire a Turkish citizen of Palestinian descent named Veysel Kerimoglu.

The two men became friends and allegedly began sharing information with the Mossad, which paid Kerimoglu's salary.

Through Kerimoglu, Derya allegedly increased his activities in the Middle East, building social and commercial relations with Palestinians who oppose Israeli policies and allegedly sharing information about them with the Mossad.

The two men are also suspected of sending technical information and photos of places desired by the Mossad, especially in Gaza.

Plans to supply drone parts

In early 2016, Kerimoglu allegedly suggested Derya to start supplying drone parts. Derya then contacted Mohamed Zouari.

However, Zouari, who was an expert engineer in the development of drones for the Palestinian independence movement Hamas - was shot dead by Mossad agents in his car in the city of Sfax, eastern Tunisia, in December 2016.

At the end of 2025, the Tunisian Court sentenced 18 people in absentia for Zouari's murder.

In his espionage performance for Mossad, Derya allegedly used an encrypted communication system to send technical data to his handlers, and underwent two lie detector tests in 2016 and 2024.

He was arrested while trying to set up a company that would oversee three shell companies in Asia whose purpose was allegedly to hide the origin of various products that would be supplied to buyers under the supervision of the Mossad.

The plan is alleged to have been discussed in detail at their last meeting in January.

Investigators said the two Mossad agents are currently being interrogated by Turkish police.