ANKARA, March 17 (Xinhua) -- A Turkish man, his wife, stepdaughter, and four others face up to 22 years in prison for allegedly working for Israel's Mossad, gathering intelligence on its targets, Türkiye's local Sabah newspaper reported on Monday.

Ahmet Ersin Tumlucali, an insurance company owner, is accused of leading the network.

Tumlucali allegedly communicated with an Israeli intelligence officer codenamed "Jorg" via email and Skype and later met him in Vienna and Munich. He also met another Mossad contact, Gavin Alfron, in Vienna and Frankfurt.

The indictment accuses him of running surveillance on Mossad targets in Türkiye, Georgia, and Germany, tracking individuals from Jordan, Syria, Azerbaijan, and Lebanon. His wife and stepdaughter allegedly assisted, while another suspect gathered information from Turkish public institutions. A Swiss resident, Andy Grutko, reportedly aided him in Germany.

Mossad is said to pay Tumlucali through cash, wire transfers, and Western Union transactions. Between 2014 and 2019, funds were routed through his wife's account, including a 300,000 euro payment.

Prosecutors said Mossad tested Tumlucali before hiring him and later cut ties in 2020, though he attempted to contact the Israeli intelligence agency until 2022.

Sabah reported that the suspects are set to appear in court soon.

In recent years, Turkish authorities have detained dozens of people, including private investigators, for allegedly gathering information on individuals for Israeli intelligence. Enditem

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