Turkey: Four Iranians were arrested on charges of "military espionage"
Four Iranians were arrested in Istanbul on charges of ‘military espionage’ along with dozens of original and fake passports and an audio surveillance device, Istanbul police said.
Göçmen Kaçakçılığıyla Mücadele ve Hudut Kapıları Şube Müdürlüğümüzce gerçekleştirilen operasyonda ;
— İstanbul Emniyet Müdürlüğü (@istanbul_EGM) September 16, 2022
4️⃣ şüpheli şahıs tutuklanmıştır.✅
Devamı için⤵️https://t.co/YZalvtZtLM@gocmenhudut pic.twitter.com/u63oqN2RKd
The operation began as Istanbul police learned that a husband and wife of Iranian nationals and two other Iranians were smuggling immigrants in Turkey with forged documents.
The teams closely followed the Iranians in question with the order of the prosecutor's office. “After the technical and physical follow-up, the suspects’ residence in Esenyurt district was raided,” Istanbul police said.
Police found dozens of stolen or lost European and Turkish passports, most of them original, an image and sound recording apparatus, a hidden camera, and a scanning device used to detect spying devices.
When the suspects gave contradictory statements during interrogation, and cross-examination, the course of the investigation evolved from 'immigrant smuggling and forgery of documents' to 'military espionage'.
The suspects were later jailed pending trial.
