Three Turkish companies suspected of supplying weapons and materials to Daesh
The death of Daesh leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi in early February in Syria's Idlib governorate has uncovered an illegal network of money, weapons and defence equipment between the terrorist group and three companies in the Turkish city of Mersin. Turkey's Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) revealed details of how the jihadist organisation used Turkey to traffic money and obtain weaponry, including drone packages. MASAK is a financial intelligence unit attached to Turkey's Ministry of Finance and Treasury.
According to the document, Daesh members allegedly purchased equipment and parts to manufacture drones and explosive devices with the help of companies based in Turkey. To send money, the jihadists used currency exchange offices, post offices, jewellery and banks. Moreover, as reported by Al-Monitor, some people linked to the terrorist organisation have acquired Turkish nationality.
The report points to the companies allegedly involved in this plot: Altun Inci, Mavi Yelken and Elfarah, all of them located in the coastal province of Mersin and dedicated to the construction of industrial materials since their creation in 2014 and 2016. Behind these companies is Aleppo-born Ibrahim Hag Gneid, the main suspect in supplying weapons and parts to Daesh. But he is not the only one. MASAK also names Mustafa Ghassan Naway and Safi Naway, Gneid's business partners of Syrian origin but with Turkish citizenship.
However, Gneid left Altun Inci in 2017 and continued to work with the other two companies. Al-Monitor notes that one of them, Mavi Yelken, is a member of Turkey's Mediterranean Exporters Assembly. Meanwhile, Turkish journalist Bahadir Ozgur of the progressive daily BirGün notes that two Turks with the same surname became partners in Altun Inci after Gneid's departure. Ozgur also notes that the Naway Group, owned by Mustafa Naway, was "a key link in the network".
The network goes beyond Turkish borders and even reaches the Asian giant, as Abu Naeema al-Turkistani, a Chinese citizen of Uyghur origin linked to the Altun Inci company, allegedly ordered materials for the manufacture of weapons worth approximately $85,000 from a company based in China in 2015. Turkistani and his wife, Minawaer Maitituersun, are also accused of belonging to a Daesh unit responsible for manufacturing chemical weapons.
Mersin-based companies, namely Altun Ici and Mavi Yelkin, were also used by Sajid Farooq Babar, a Pakistani national known as Abu Muaz Pakistani, to supply large quantities of materials to the terrorist organisation. Babar was killed in Syria in 2017 along with two other drone experts during a US airstrike. "The elimination of these key Daesh leaders disrupts and degrades their ability to modify and employ drone platforms as reconnaissance and direct fire weapons on the battlefield," the US military said at the time.
BirGün newspaper's Turkish journalist Bahadir Ozgur was the first to disseminate the 279-page document, although other Turkish media and subsequently echoed the report, as well as others specialising in the Middle East region, such as Al-Monitor. The issue has even reached the Turkish parliament through Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Alpay Antmen.
Antmen asked Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu how Gneid, who is linked to Daesh, could have been granted citizenship. The Syrian businessman was granted Turkish citizenship in 2017. Years later, in 2019, he was investigated by the Mersin Public Prosecutor's Office on suspicion of belonging to a Daesh-linked terrorist cell, although he eventually escaped jail, despite intelligence services describing him as a member of the jihadist group.
"Was this person granted citizenship of the Republic of Turkey despite knowing his connection to Daesh?" questioned Antmen. "How many people in Turkey linked to Daesh have been granted citizenship?" he stressed. The opposition party politician also alluded to the work of companies in Mersin, as well as other countries involved in the sale of materials.
