Türkiye captures over 500 would-be FETÖ infiltrators in 62 cities VIDEO

Turkish police have captured over 500 suspects linked to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) in nationwide raids, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on May 14.

In coordination with chief public prosecutors and the intelligence directorate, police in 62 provinces detained 544 suspects planned to be placed as FETÖ infiltrators in various state institutions, Yerlikaya said via X, Daily Sabah reports.

6️⃣2️⃣ ilde FETÖ tarafından devletin farklı kademelerine yerleştirilmesi planlanan şahıslara yönelik düzenlenen “KISKAÇ-15” operasyonlarında 5️⃣4️⃣4️⃣ şüpheli yakalandı❗️

FETÖ’cülere göz açtırmayacağız. Aziz milletimizin huzuru, birlik ve beraberliği için güvenlik güçlerimizin üstün… pic.twitter.com/guEybfJzWP

— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) May 14, 2024

The suspects were directed to public personnel selection exams like the KPSS by FETÖ handlers who aimed to ensure the candidates would win the exam by coding the levels of the suspects’ loyalty to the terrorist organization, Yerlikaya informed.

Some of the suspects were named as regular users in case documents of ByLock, FETÖ’s encrypted communication app, and also communicated with their handlers through payphones.

The raids spanned from the capital Ankara to southern Antalya, northern Zonguldak, Erzurum, western Çanakkale, Bursa to eastern Gaziantep and Mardin provinces, Yerlikaya added.

Separately on Tuesday, Ankara's Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said it was looking to detain some 24 suspects linked to the terrorist group on charges of FETÖ's so-called “secret public formation” based on witness testimonies, sequential search and the group’s reference/rating lists.

Ankara anti-smuggling police are pursuing the suspects, the prosecutors said.

Last year, Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) found that over 3,000 infiltrators of FETÖ were still active within the Turkish National Police after spending more than six years to decipher an encrypted database seized from a top FETÖ member codenamed “Garson” ("Waiter") who was behind the group’s July 2016 coup.