site.btaTurkiye Arrests Two Men Accused of Spying for Israel

Turkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has detained two suspects accused of working for Israel’s intelligence agency in Istanbul, TRT Haber said.

Mehmet Budak Derya and Veysel Kerimoglu were taken into custody in coordinated actions led by MIT, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Istanbul Police Department’s counterterrorism branch.

Derya, a mining engineer, founded a company in 2005 and opened a marble quarry in the Silifke district of the city of Mersin before expanding into international trade. His growing business links across multiple countries allegedly drew the attention of Israeli intelligence.

By January 2013, Derya was introduced to Mossad operatives during a meeting in Europe.

On Mossad’s orders, Deria hired Veysel Kerimoglu, a Turkish citizen of Palestinian origin.

Investigators allege the pair collected information primarily through social and commercial contacts with Palestinians critical of Israeli policies in the region, passing details on individuals, locations and networks to Israeli intelligence. 

During the last meeting between Mossad and Deria, held in January 2026, the Israeli services were preparing for a major operation involving Deria. The plan included infiltrating warehouses of international logistics companies and repackaging products from certain countries.

The decision to carry out an operation against the two individuals, who were detained on charges of espionage, was made at the end of January 2026 as a result of the National Intelligence Service’s tracking activities, and the investigation is ongoing.