The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) achieved a significant success in its “MONITUM” operation targeting the activities of the Israeli Intelligence Service (MOSSAD) in Turkey.
In the operation, conducted in coordination with the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Istanbul Provincial Police Department’s Counter-Terrorism Branch, marble trader Mehmet Budak Derya and his accomplice Veysel Kerimoğlu, who were determined to be spying for MOSSAD, were taken into custody.
Under the guise of commercial relations
According to information obtained from security sources, Mehmet Budak Derya, a mining engineer who operates a marble quarry in Silifke district of Mersin, came under MOSSAD’s radar due to his international trade activities since 2005.
In September 2012, Derya was visited in his office by a person codenamed “Ali Ahmed Yassın,” an official of a front company for Israel. Invited to Europe in January 2013 with the promise of “job opportunities,” Derya made her first contact with MOSSAD agents there.
They monitored Palestinian dissidents
Following MOSSAD directives, Derya hired Veysel Kerimoğlu, a Turkish citizen of Palestinian origin, and used Kerimoğlu’s Middle East network to gather information about anti-Israel Palestinian individuals. The collected data and photographs of critical warehouses in Gaza were directly passed on to Israeli intelligence. It was determined that Kerimoğlu’s salary and operational expenses were covered directly by MOSSAD.
One striking detail concerns Mohamed Zouari, who was assassinated in Tunisia in 2016. It was determined that Mehmet Budak Derya and Veysel Kerimoğlu attempted to sell drone parts to Zouari using samples provided by MOSSAD, and that they had established commercial contact with him before the assassination.
Lie Detector and Encrypted Communication
As part of MOSSAD’s emphasis on secrecy, Mehmet Budak Derya underwent lie detector (polygraphy) tests twice: once in an Asian country in 2016 and again in a European country in August 2024.
It was determined that Derya, who used encrypted communication systems in his espionage activities, also transmitted technical data (MAC addresses, passwords) of devices such as SIM cards, modems, and routers obtained from Turkey to the Israeli service.
In the last meeting held in Europe in January 2026, it was revealed that MOSSAD was preparing a major operation through Derya. The plan involved infiltrating the international supply chain through shell companies established abroad, and delivering products obtained from designated countries to the “end user” through three different Asia-based companies, after changing packaging and storage.
This method was assessed as MOSSAD preparing a logistical operation targeting its targeted countries and institutions.
Following surveillance by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), the operation was launched in January 2026 during the final planning phase. The police procedures for Mehmet Budak Derya and Veysel Kerimoğlu, who were taken into custody, are ongoing.
Source: TRT Haber
