Israel’s State Prosecutor’s Office has indicted three Turkish citizens for their involvement in a plot to smuggle handguns into the Jewish state on behalf of an Iranian arms supplier, it announced Sunday morning.
Oktay Asci, Rahman Gokyir and Yunus Ozel were indicted for weapons offenses for their role in a plot to smuggle the Iranian-supplied arms into Israel through the border with Jordan. The first suspect was also charged with attempting to provide means for carrying out terror.
According to Sunday’s indictment, Asci offered Gokyir inclusion in the smuggling network in July. Gokyir agreed to receive the weapons, store them, transfer them to third parties and collect the money from the deals, the indictment states. He was allegedly promised a million dollars for his role.
Last month, Gokyir and Asci agreed to infiltrate Israel through Jordan to operate the network. The two flew from Turkey to Saudi Arabia and from there to Jordan, and agreed to smuggle three guns. The two were arrested by Israeli soldiers before crossing the security fence.
As part of the network’s activities, Asci allegedly recruited the third suspect, Ozel, to go to the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station to finalize a weapons deal. Ozel was said to have waited twice with the money, but the person who was supposed to deliver the pistol did not show up.
Despite the failed deals, Ozel allegedly kept some 5,000 shekels ($1,300).
Asci is also suspected to have collected a handgun and hidden it near his residence in the Israeli coastal city of Bat Yam. The main suspect in the case allegedly transferred the pistol to an unidentified second person.
The Islamic Republic continues its efforts to instigate terrorism in Judea and Samaria by flooding the area with weapons, The New York Times reported in April 2024, citing American, Israeli and Iranian officials.
The majority of the weapons smuggled into the territories are small arms and assault rifles, analysts said. However, the U.S. and Israeli officials said that the Islamic Republic is also smuggling in more advanced weaponry, including anti-tank missiles and rocket-propelled grenades.
In November 2024, Israel’s security forces announced they thwarted an attempt by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to smuggle heavy weaponry to Palestinian terrorist cells in the Samaria city of Jenin.
Israeli intelligence believes that the arms were sent by Unit 4000—the special operations division of the IRGC’s Intelligence Organization— and Unit 18840, the special operations unit of its Quds Force in Syria.
Among the seized weapons were 40 standard large Claymore mines, including detonators and wireless activation systems; 37 handguns; 33 improvised Claymore mines; 24 RPG-18 and RPG-22 rockets; 20 60mm mortar shells; seven Hunter sniper rifles; six RPG-7 launchers; six M16 rifles and 1 M4 rifle, along with ammunition; three 107mm rockets; and two 60mm mortar barrels.
