Physical Address
Indirizzo: Via Mario Greco 60, Buttigliera Alta, 10090, Torino, Italy
In what officials are calling the most dangerous infiltration attempt into Türkiye’s defense industry in the nation’s history, authorities have dismantled a vast espionage and sabotage network linked to the Gülenist Terrorist Group (FETÖ) at a prominent defense contractor.
According to a report in the Turkish newspaper Sabah, the network within Assan attempted to smuggle classified ammunition plans, explosives blueprints and confidential research abroad while deliberately delaying the production of critical weaponry.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed the arrests of businessman Emin Öner, owner of Assan and Gürcan Okumuş, the company’s general manager and a former senior executive at the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye’s Defense Industry Research and Development Institute (TÜBITAK SAGE).
Both Öner and Okumuş face sweeping charges, including “membership in an armed terrorist organization” and “destruction, misuse, fraudulent acquisition and theft of state security documents.”
According to case files reviewed by Sabah, investigators identified 22 separate ByLock communications and 113 organizational contacts linked to Öner, including fugitives Cemil Koca and Hüseyin Saruhan, two of FETÖ’s top leaders.
The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) reports that Öner and his circle funneled millions of liras abroad, creating what prosecutors describe as a “covert financial lifeline” for the terror group, which sought to seize power on July 15, 2016, through a foiled coup bid by its military infiltrators.
Authorities believe Assan operated not only as a defense firm but also as a front for espionage, funding and sabotage operations.
Sabotage plots
Raids on the suspects’ offices and homes uncovered a trove of classified defense materials. Among the items seized were procurement plans for ammunition produced by the Mechanical and Chemical Industries Corporation (MKE), technical designs for the production of C4 explosives, secret price tables tied to defense contracts and confidential research reports prepared by TÜBITAK SAGE.
Perhaps most alarming, prosecutors uncovered evidence that the group deliberately delayed the production and delivery of 700 tons of domestically produced C4 explosives under the classified “Crescent Star” project, a state-of-the-art facility that will gather the Defense Ministry and military forces at an advanced military command center.
Officials stress that the explosives, once imported from abroad, now mark a milestone in Türkiye’s push for defense independence.
Authorities argue that intentionally slowing deliveries amounted to direct sabotage targeting national defense capacity.
Delays in the manufacture of 155-millimeter artillery shells were likewise deemed deliberate acts designed to undermine counterterrorism operations.
Infiltration attempts
The investigation highlights FETÖ’s efforts to infiltrate strategic institutions. General Manager Okumuş secretly established front companies with Assan after leaving public office at TÜBIKTAK SAGE in 2024, recruiting 19 key TÜBITAK engineers into the firm. Authorities say he created a shadow pipeline for sensitive defense data to be siphoned off to FETÖ.
An Assan employee, Mesut Ateş, tried to coerce MKE Gunpowder Factory staffer Nur Songur into leaking photos via WhatsApp. Songur refused, immediately reported the attempt and documented the incident, foiling what officials called a “textbook infiltration maneuver.”
Senior state figures implicated
The case also names Ismet Sayhan, the former chair of MKE, as a suspect. Now working as a lawyer, Sayhan is accused of leaking classified ammunition procurement documents directly to Öner.
Authorities describe him as one of FETÖ’s “critical internal contacts” inside state defense institutions.
Another suspect, Ali Avcı, a former Land Forces project officer who later joined Assan, is accused of delivering detailed intelligence on MKE’s storage capacity, raw materials and production processes. Investigators say this intelligence was passed to Öner and funneled into FETÖ’s espionage network.
‘Historic threat’
Prosecutors say the arrests have prevented a historic breach of Türkiye’s defense security, arguing that the sabotage plots and stolen intelligence could have seriously weakened the country’s strategic capacity.
The investigation is ongoing, and officials say more arrests are expected as authorities track down fugitives and financiers linked to the operation.
The case serves as the latest reminder of FETÖ’s continued attempts to infiltrate state institutions nearly a decade after the group orchestrated the July 15, 2016 coup attempt.
FETÖ still has backers in army ranks and civil institutions, but they managed to disguise their loyalty, as operations and investigations since the coup attempt have indicated.
The group faced increased scrutiny following the coup attempt that killed 251 people and injured nearly 2,200 others. Tens of thousands of people were detained, arrested or dismissed from public sector jobs following the attempt, which occurred under a state of emergency.
Hundreds of investigations launched after the attempt sped up the collapse of the group’s far-reaching network in the country.
The terrorist group faces operations almost daily as investigators still try to unravel their massive network of infiltrators everywhere, but an unknown number of FETÖ members, mostly high-ranking figures, fled Türkiye when the coup attempt was thwarted.
The group lost its top leader and founder, Fetullah Gülen, based in Pennsylvania, along with dozens of other senior members, in October last year.
