A Turkish court on Thursday condemned a family of three and three others to a total of 100 years in prison for spying for Israel’s Mossad and gathering intelligence on their targets, Turkish media reported.
The suspects were captured in an operation last April in Istanbul. They were among eight arrested following a surveillance operation by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT).
Ahmet Ersin Tumlucalı, owner of an insurance company, was convicted to 22 years and six months in jail for leading a network of operatives working for Mossad, including his wife and stepdaughter, according to the ruling by Istanbul’s 23rd Heavy Penal Court.
The court ruled to reduce his sentence to 18 years and nine months on “good behavior,” but kept him in prison.
His wife, Benan Tumlucalı, was sentenced to 16 years and eight months, while their daughter, Dila Sultan Şimşek, was sentenced to 15 years, seven months and 15 days in prison.
The defendants took an active part in spying activities, formed contact with Mossad agents and gathered confidential information, the court said.
One of the four other collaborators detained with the Tumlucalı family was acquitted, but three were each handed prison terms of 15 years, seven months and 15 days.
Prosecutors said the group worked for a Mossad unit in charge of “online operations” and was primarily tasked with photo surveillance of Mossad’s targets in Türkiye and obtaining personal information about those targets.
“It is understood that the suspects were engaged in acts of obtaining information about foreigners in the country, particularly those who fled their home countries due to conflicts and shared this intelligence with (Mossad),” the indictment said.
Tumlucalı was in touch with an Israeli intelligence officer code-named “Jorg,” who introduced himself to him as a lawyer’s assistant. They were engaged in talking over email and Skype.
Tumlucalı was also in contact with a suspect named Gavin Alfron, who was working for Israeli intelligence. The indictment said Mossad handed over several tasks to Tumlucalı for a “trial period” before hiring him.
“Jorg” and Tumlucalı met in Vienna and Munich in 2011 and 2017. Tumlucalı later met Gavin in Vienna and Frankfurt in 2017. They continued their meetings until 2020 when Mossad apparently terminated his contract. Tumlucalı tried to contact them again, up until 2022, to no avail, prosecutors said.
He is convicted of running surveillance and pursuit operations against Mossad’s targets in Türkiye, Georgia and Germany, as well as obtaining “some official documents from Lebanon” and delivering them to the Israelis.
He also conducted surveillance on a Lebanese national during a trip to that country. He followed the target on a flight to Istanbul and then to his residence in Istanbul, taking photos of every movement of the target.
Prosecutors said Tumlucalı ran surveillance on behalf of Mossad on Jordanian, Syrian and Azerbaijani nationals. In all his operations, he received assistance from his wife Benan, stepdaughter Dila Sultan Şimşek and his sister-in-law Berna Çetin, as well as from three other suspects in the case.
His wife, Benan, sometimes delivered surveillance reports to “Jorg” and Gavin, while another suspect helped them obtain information from public institutions in Türkiye.
Tumlucalı was aided by an individual named Andy Grutko, a resident of Switzerland, for his activities in Germany, prosecutors said, adding that he was paid by Mossad operatives either in cash at their meetings in Europe or through wire transfers via Western Union.
The indictment noted numerous money transfers to Tumlucalı’s bank account from multiple bank accounts linked to Israeli intelligence.
Between 2014 and 2019, transfers were carried out through his wife’s bank account. In one case, Tumlucalı was paid 300,000 euros ($333,282), the indictment said.
Mossad is known to hire locals to run surveillance on its targets in Türkiye, particularly Palestinians. Earlier operations and investigations have uncovered several people, including foreigners with residence permits, private investigators and former police officers spying on Mossad’s targets.
As the Palestinian-Israeli conflict rages on, Türkiye has uncovered several networks operated by Mossad in the country.
Dozens were detained or arrested on charges of having ties to Mossad and running espionage rings for Mossad operatives. Their primary targets have been Palestinians living in Türkiye or visiting the country, particularly those linked to Hamas.
Türkiye views Hamas as a resistance group, while Israel brands it as a terrorist group.