Turkish court orders arrest of seven in military secrets leak involving ASELSAN

Turkish authorities have arrested seven individuals, including customs officials, for selling classified import and export data related to the defence industry through Telegram groups and social media platforms. This follows a June operation that uncovered a widespread commercial and military espionage network compromising sensitive national security information.

The Trade Ministry discovered the espionage after defence companies, including leading Turkish arms manufacturer ASELSAN, reported their proprietary data appearing on foreign websites, according to Turkish media reports. Investigations revealed the suspects sold trade secrets from Türkiye’s defence sector to third parties through paid memberships between 2023 and 2025, exposing highly sensitive military and commercial information, Caliber.Az reports, citing Turkish media.

Among the compromised data were details about ASELSAN-developed weaponry such as drum-fed grenade launchers, automatic grenade launchers, and infantry machine guns. These leaked files reportedly contained classified information, including product quantities, weights, types, and specifications, all of which require prior approval from the Ministry of National Defence for import or export.

Customs officials Necmettin G. and Ihsan S. were identified when their database queries surfaced on foreign websites, raising suspicions of internal collusion. To investigate the leak, Customs Protection and Anti-Smuggling Intelligence units infiltrated a Telegram group named "Disticaretistihbarati," where the stolen data from the Trade Ministry’s “Decision Support System” (KDS) and “Bilge” systems were being illicitly shared.

The Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office, overseeing the Terror Crimes Investigation Bureau, collaborated with Counterterrorism Branch teams in the June raid, which resulted in ten arrests. Financial probes revealed that Gulsen B., who marketed the data on Telegram, received approximately ₺65,000 (around $1,569) from Mustafa K., a sales director in the import-export sector. Mustafa K. also transferred $7,000 to a foreign data storage company, identified as annual subscription fees for accessing the leaked intelligence.

Prosecutors emphasized that the leaked data could pose significant security risks by enabling terrorist groups and foreign intelligence agencies to acquire strategic information. Seven suspects, including customs officials Ali A. and Aslan K. and businessman Cagatay E., owner of DAC Consulting, were formally charged with disclosing information critical to state security and political interests.

While the accused have denied the allegations, three suspects were released under judicial supervision as investigations continue. Affected entities include members of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), the Turkish Exporters Assembly, and major defence contractors.

Following the breach, the Trade Ministry has taken immediate action to prevent further leaks of sensitive import and export data stored on its servers.

By Vafa Guliyeva