The Turkish national intelligence service MIT has detained in Istanbul an alleged agent of the Israeli foreign intelligence agency Mossad and a lawyer who allegedly sold information to Israeli spies, the Anadolu Agency reported, quoted by BTA.
In the operation, carried out in coordination with the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office and the city's police anti-terrorism department, private detective Serkan Çiçek, who is believed to have worked for Israeli intelligence for a reward, and lawyer Tuğrulhan Dip, who is believed to have sold information to Mossad agents, were detained.
The investigation into Çiçek has revealed that the detective, whose real name is Muhammet Fatih Keles, changed his name after accumulated significant debts from business operations.
After changing his identity, he opened his own detective agency in 2020. While working as a detective, he attracted the attention of the Mossad and was recruited by Faisal Rashid, an employee of the Israeli Online Operations Center.
Cicek agreed to investigate and monitor a Palestinian activist for a fee of $4,000.
The investigation also links Cicek to Musa Kush, who is currently serving a 19-year sentence for espionage for Israel. Kush is alleged to have assisted Cicek's detective agency in obtaining personal data from public records in exchange for financial gain.