09 April 2018•Update: 09 April 2018
SAMSUN, Turkey
A Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO)-linked suspect was arrested Monday from a Greek-flagged yacht in the Aegean resort town of Marmaris, according to a security source.
Murat Elmas, the 48-year-old Black Sea Samsun region’s imam of the terror group, was arrested along with five more suspects, the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media, said.
Elmas, who taught religion at FETO schools, was making plans to flee to Greece using fake identity.
Three mobile phones on the suspect also had ByLock, an encrypted cellphone app used by coup plotters in Turkey.
The other suspects were also accused of using fake identities, the source added.
Arrest of Elmas is said to be important for dissolving the regional network of FETO.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.
Reporting by Recep Bilek:Writing by Sena Guler
