A Turkish court has sentenced six individuals, including three members of the same family, to a combined total of 100 years in prison for conducting espionage on behalf of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, according to Turkish media reports published Thursday.

The Istanbul 23rd Heavy Penal Court handed down the sentences following a lengthy investigation and surveillance operation led by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT). The group was arrested in April 2024 in Istanbul.

At the center of the case is Ahmet Ersin Tumlucalı, an insurance company owner, who was convicted of running a covert network that carried out surveillance operations for Mossad. Initially sentenced to 22 years and six months in prison, his sentence was reduced to 18 years and nine months for good behavior.

His wife, Benan Tumlucalı, received a prison sentence of 16 years and eight months, while his stepdaughter, Dila Sultan Şimşek, was sentenced to 15 years, seven months, and 15 days. Three other operatives — Cem Ozcan, Ozkan Arican, and Fuzuli Simsek — received identical sentences of 15 years, seven months, and 15 days each.

According to the indictment, the group was tasked with gathering information on foreign nationals living in Turkey, particularly those who had fled their home countries due to regional conflicts. The prosecution said the operatives were part of Mossad’s “online operations” unit and were responsible for photo surveillance and collecting sensitive information, which was then transferred to Israeli intelligence.

Ahmet Tumlucalı is accused of maintaining direct contact with a Mossad handler known by the code name “Jorg,” with whom he allegedly communicated via Skype and met in Vienna and Munich in 2011 and 2017. He is also said to have met another Mossad officer, Gavin Alfron, in Vienna and Frankfurt between 2017 and 2020, when his alleged contract with Mossad was terminated.

Tumlucalı’s surveillance activities reportedly extended beyond Turkey to include Georgia and Germany. The indictment further claims that he provided Mossad with official documents from Lebanon and that surveillance targets included nationals from Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Azerbaijan.

MIT investigators found that his wife, stepdaughter, and sister-in-law, Berna Çetin, assisted in many of the operations. Between 2014 and 2019, large sums of money were reportedly transferred to Benan Tumlucalı’s bank account as payment for their work. In one instance, the group allegedly received €300,000 (approximately $333,000).

“Mossad has been trying to operate in Türkiye for a long time, but since it cannot send its own agents, it identifies such people and uses them as a spy network,” said CNN Türk’s Istanbul News Director Nihat Uludağ.

Authorities said the operatives transferred both official and personal data of individuals and entities within Turkey to Israeli intelligence.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)