Search ongoing for fourth suspect as prosecutor’s office says the accused hold positions in critical defence companies operating inside Turkiye.
Three executives of defence companies have been arrested by Turkish authorities on suspicion of spying for foreign powers, prosecutors say.
“An operation was carried out on November 25, 2025, to apprehend four individuals identified in connection with the conspiracy,” the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Tuesday.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 items
- list 1 of 3Houthi court sentences 17 to death accused of spying for Israel, West
- list 2 of 3Hamas meet Egypt’s spy chief, says Israel’s attacks on Gaza threaten truce
- list 3 of 3Are tech companies training their AI with private data?
end of list
“As a result of the operation, three individuals were apprehended, and an arrest warrant was issued for one individual due to being abroad.”
It said the suspects “hold executive positions within critical defence companies operating in our country”.
They are accused of trying to provide “biographical” information about employees to foreign countries.
According to the AFP news agency, the prosecutor’s office initially said the suspects worked for the intelligence services of the United Arab Emirates before deleting that statement and publishing a significantly revised version on X that did not mention the UAE.
Turkey’s defence exports swelled by 29 percent ($7.15bn) in 2024, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, driven notably by the success of its military drones.
