Turkish Intelligence Arrests Man Allegedly Working For Israeli Mossad, Paid With Crypto

Illustration. (Unsplash/Tetiana SHYSHKINA)

JAKARTA - Turkey's security forces on Friday detained a private detective accused of working for Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, in a joint operation with prosecutors and police in Istanbul, according to security sources.

The Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) said the suspect identified as Serkan Badminton was detained in an operation codenamed "Metron Activity."

Security officials said he worked for Mossad and was in contact with Faysal Rasheed, a member of Israel's Online Operations Center, quoted from Daily Sabah Oct. 3.

They allegedly admitted to having carried out surveillance in Istanbul, at Rasheed's request, against a Palestinian activist who opposed Israel's Middle East policy.

According to Turkish intelligence, good luck whose real name is Muhammet Fatih Keles changed his name after being in big debt and leaving his business career to establish a private company, the Pandora Detective Agency, in 2020.

He is reportedly working with Musa Ku totaling, who was sentenced to 19 years in prison for being a spy for Israel, and with lawyer Tu wayrulhan Dip, both found guilty of selling personal data from public records to detectives for personal gain.

Officials said punctuations caught the attention of Mossad after starting its detective work. On July 31, Rasheed allegedly contacted him via WhatsApp, introducing himself as an employee of a foreign law firm.

Rasheed then assigns goodminton to carry out a four-day surveillance mission against a Palestinian activist who lives in Badokkanhir, on the outskirts of Istanbul. How come it was reportedly paid US$4,000 in cryptocurrencies on August 1 to carry out the task.

They found out that their target was a Palestinian activist after searching for his name online. Even though he knew his colleague, Kulodi, had been jailed for being a spy for Israel, he accepted the job.

Authorities said calmieek visited the address given by Rasheed but was unable to find his target. He entered the housing complex on August 1-2 on the pretext of searching for an apartment to rent and conduct reconnaissance, but failed to gather information requested by Mossad.

On August 3, Rasheed cut contact, according to officials.

According to Turkish security sources, Mossad often uses online communication applications to recruit agents who will spy on Palestinians and other foreign nationals living in Turkey.

Turkey's intelligence in recent years has uncovered several spy networks operated by independent groups, terrorist organizations such as Daesh, or foreign intelligence agencies in Turkey.

In October, authorities in Istanbul charged seven suspects for espionage for Chinese intelligence, while in September, 37 people accused of working for Israeli Mossad intelligence were sentenced to prison terms of between six and eight years.