Turkiye dismantles family of Mossad spies

Turkish media has revealed details about a Mossad espionage network that was dismantled in April last year, involving an entire family and several individuals who assisted in gathering and transferring intelligence to Israel.

According to the Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah, the leader of the Mossad-linked network arrested by Turkish intelligence has been identified as Ahmet Ersin Tomlucali, an insurance company owner. He has been charged with obtaining confidential state information for political or military espionage.

The paper stated that those involved carried out activities on behalf of the Israeli Online Operations Centre (ICOM), a unit affiliated with Mossad. They were engaged in surveillance and intelligence gathering, including collecting personal data and identifying the residences of individuals targeted by Israeli intelligence in Turkiye.

The Istanbul prosecutor’s office stated that the accused had obtained information on foreigners residing in Turkiye, as well as those who had fled their home countries due to war.

Investigations revealed that the network’s leader, Ahmet Ersin, was in contact with a Mossad officer named Jorg, who introduced himself as a legal assistant. Their communication took place via email and Skype, and Ahmet Ersin also interacted with another Mossad officer named Gavin Alfron. Mossad assigned him several test tasks, and once he gained their trust, Ahmet Ersin was officially recruited.

The indictment revealed that Ahmet Ersin met Jorg in person in Vienna in 2011 and in Munich in 2017. He also met Gavin in both Vienna and Frankfurt, with their meetings continuing until 2019.

The espionage activities were not limited to Ahmet Ersin alone. His wife, Benan Tomlucali, her daughter from a previous marriage, Dila Sultan Simsek, and his wife’s sister, Berna Cetin, were also involved, along with other individuals connected to them.

According to the investigation, Ahmet Ersin’s wife personally prepared surveillance reports and sent them to Mossad officers Jorg and Gavin. She obtained information from Turkish public institutions with the help of another suspect, identified as Ozkan Arikan.

The defendants face prison terms of up to 22 years.

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