Turkish police have arrested Liridon Rexhepi, a Kosovar national, for allegedly transferring money to Mossad operatives in Turkey, as reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency.
Rexhepi entered Turkey on August 25 and was detained last Friday, with his formal arrest occurring on Tuesday. During interrogation, he confessed to the money transfers.
Since the beginning of the year, Turkish authorities have detained dozens of individuals, including private investigators, accused of gathering information for Israeli intelligence, mostly on Palestinians residing in Turkey. Israel has not commented on these arrests.
Turkey's national intelligence agency, Millî İstihbarat Teşkilatı (MIT), facilitated Rexhepi's arrest. They found that he transferred funds to Mossad agents in Turkey, who engaged in drone photography, psychological operations against Palestinian politicians, and intelligence gathering from sources in Syria. Rexhepi was monitored due to suspicious financial activities, specifically using Western Union to send money, which was then converted into cryptocurrency for Israeli sources in Syria.
Rexhepi is noted as the first senior Mossad operative arrested in Turkey this year. His arrest is part of Turkey's increased actions against Israeli intelligence, coinciding with deteriorating relations between Ankara and Jerusalem since the Hamas attack on October 7 and the outbreak of the war.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been a vocal critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, praising Hamas as a liberation group and refusing to label it a terrorist organization. Consequently, relations have soured, with Turkey halting trade with Israel and seeking involvement in an international genocide case against it. Hamas leaders receive warm receptions in Turkey, which has been considered a potential new base for the group's leadership relocating from Qatar.