MIT operation against Mossad-linked team

Müslim SARIYAR/12punto.com.tr

46 suspects, who were allegedly conducting "international espionage" activities on behalf of the Israeli Foreign Intelligence Service, Mossad, against foreign nationals residing in Turkey for humanitarian reasons, were identified, and 34 of these individuals were apprehended in an operation carried out by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and Istanbul Police Department teams across 8 provinces.

DETAILS OF THE OPERATION HAVE EMERGED

12punto.com.tr has reached new details regarding the spy cell working on behalf of MOSSAD. While the 34 apprehended individuals were taken to the Istanbul Counter-Terrorism Branch for questioning, it was learned during the investigation into the sabotage team, which is alleged to have links to the Israeli service, that the agents targeted in the operation were used for tactical tasks and were short-term operatives. It was understood that Israeli Intelligence lured these individuals into their network through vague job postings on social media sites or chat groups, and ensured that suitable candidates contacted them by sharing links to these job postings. How the suspects, who were detained on charges of 'espionage', fell into Mossad's network, where they met, and what job offers they received have also been revealed.

THEIR METHODS HAVE ALSO BEEN DECODED

MOSSAD officers first recruited personnel to be used in actions against Palestinians and their families in Turkey. In this context, Israeli Intelligence ensured that suitable individuals contacted them by sharing vague job postings or links on social media sites or chat groups. Those who responded to these postings or links were given various tasks to prepare them for their final mission. After the initial contact, Mossad maintained communication through operational "Telegram" and "WhatsApp" applications, communicating with its sources only in writing.

Mossad officers, who managed the sabotage team from Tel Aviv, either used intermediaries or live couriers to make payments to their sources. At times, they aimed to lose the trail of the money by using cryptocurrency and money transfer systems through third parties. The Israeli secret service also recruited the individuals it used as intermediaries/live couriers through advertisements it placed on social media.

THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATION DECODED THE ACTION PLAN

MOSSAD agents convinced the people they would include in the sabotage team by claiming that the money transfers were from illegal betting and gambling. Meanwhile, MIT units, which were closely monitoring MOSSAD activities in Turkey, kept all movements under scrutiny and followed them like a shadow. It was decoded by MIT that Mossad created its action plan for its ultimate goal by having these operatives, with whom it established tactical-level relationships, perform tasks piece by piece. It was revealed that Israeli Intelligence, which used these operatives it lured into its network with promises of high income, carried out operational tasks such as information gathering, research, imaging targets with photos/videos, surveillance, placing GPS devices on target vehicles, assault/injury, robbery, arson, threats, and blackmail, as well as disinformation efforts such as setting up/managing websites, designing internet news outlets, and spreading fake news. Beyond these actions, it was understood that Israeli Intelligence also engaged in cyber activities such as collecting IP addresses of targets, detecting and hacking or infiltrating cameras in target areas, and creating a database of foreign nationals in Turkey.

LARGE PAYMENTS WERE MADE TO PREVENT FEELINGS OF BETRAYAL

In the investigation into the spy wars, the methods and formulas Mossad used to evade MIT's surveillance were also decoded. It was determined that the Israeli intelligence service met with individuals it deemed to have the necessary qualifications, other than tactical operatives, abroad to avoid being targeted by Turkish Intelligence and to ensure the safety of its own agents. It was reported that Israeli Intelligence established contact with these individuals, whom it reached through social media and career sites, using a "mask" suitable for their needs and interests. The person or persons directed by Mossad were supported with large payments to prevent them from feeling "betrayal" and to provide psychological relief through the aforementioned mask.

THEY WERE SUBJECTED TO LIE DETECTOR TESTS

While MOSSAD agents and the individuals in the recruited sabotage team met outside of Turkey, they established contact with intelligence officers who knew psychology well and had physical characteristics suitable for the profile of the country where the meetings were held. The operatives were hosted in comfortable hotels during their trips abroad, invited to luxury restaurants to impress them, and included in special sightseeing and tour programs. While these were ongoing, the suspects were subjected to lie detector tests by Mossad agents without their knowledge, and were also given training in secret communication.

MONEY WAS GIVEN IN SPECIALLY DESIGNED BAGS THAT DO NOT SHOW UP ON X-RAYS

Mossad agents, whose activities were decoded by MIT, gave the payments they made to their operatives, whom they met outside of Turkey, in person. For payments that were high enough to cause problems at customs, they were given in specially designed bags with secret compartments. With these bags, problems during X-ray device checks and searches with dogs were prevented.

MIT DECODED THE SPECIAL TEAM

It was noted that Mossad, which provided secret communication training and delivered secret communication systems to its operatives in the spy network targeting Turkey during meetings abroad, aimed to carry out business-related matters through the secret communication system after this stage. Apart from this, training in surveillance, observation, photo documentation, casing, reporting, and operational security was provided by a special team that came from Israel disguised as "business people". All these activities were followed step by step by MIT's field units and tracked to the end.

In addition to the tasks MOSSAD had its tactical operatives perform, these operatives were also taught preparations for the important stages of possible actions such as smuggling people and goods into Turkey from the Iranian and Iraqi borders, finding hackers, providing safe houses, and arranging ambulance companies to be used in actions.

The 34 suspects apprehended in the investigation into international espionage activities are accused of being directed by Mossad officers and seeking to carry out actions such as reconnaissance, surveillance, assault, and kidnapping against foreign nationals residing in Turkey for humanitarian reasons, particularly Palestinians and Israeli activists who oppose Israel's actions.

143 THOUSAND 830 EUROS, 23 THOUSAND 680 DOLLARS, AND VARIOUS AMOUNTS OF CASH BELONGING TO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES WERE SEIZED

The button for the operation to apprehend the 46 people, who were learned to be operating deep within Turkey and communicating with MOSSAD officers via social media, was pressed this morning, and it was announced that 33 people were apprehended in chain raids carried out by Istanbul Counter-Terrorism teams at 57 addresses in 8 provinces centered in Istanbul. In the simultaneous operation carried out by law enforcement at 57 addresses identified in 15 districts of Istanbul, as well as in Ankara, Kocaeli, Hatay, Mersin, Izmir, Van, and Diyarbakir, 34 suspects were apprehended. It was reported that 143 thousand 830 euros, 23 thousand 680 dollars, various amounts of cash belonging to different countries, unlicensed pistols, a large number of cartridges, and digital materials were seized during the searches conducted at the addresses within the scope of the operation.

12 SUSPECTS ARE BEING SOUGHT

This latest operation carried out by MIT against MOSSAD has added a new dimension to the shadow wars between Turkey and Israel, as well as the attacks and genocide Israel has been carrying out against Palestine, especially in the Gaza Strip.