Turkish gang plotted attack on German prosecutor, court paper says

ISTANBUL

A major criminal organization in Türkiye known as “Caspers” plotted an assassination attempt against a prosecutor in Germany who oversaw the arrest of its members, local media reported on Feb. 23, citing a Turkish court document.

Last week, Turkish authorities detained 19 individuals, including police officers, a court clerk and a customs official, accused of leaking information to the crime syndicate about the course of the investigation and arrest warrants.

On Feb. 23, a court ordered 14 suspects, seven of them police officers, jailed pending trial.

Prosecutors’ referral documents submitted to the court outlined operational details, stating that the information leak first came to light following a tip-off related to a planned attack on a prosecutor in Germany.

The gang’s leader, İsmail Atız, was apprehended in Germany on July 3, 2025. After being released four days later and traveling to Italy, authorities received intelligence that he intended to orchestrate an armed assault on the prosecutor responsible for detaining Turkish nationals linked to narcotics trafficking in Germany.

Following the subsequent arrest of a suspect identified as G.Ş., who was allegedly acting in coordination with Atız and was detained near the prosecutor’s residence, investigators recovered critical evidence from seized digital devices.

The results of an internal Turkish law-enforcement database query were shared among gang members.

This intelligence was relayed to Türkiye by German authorities, prompting Turkish officials to launch an operation that swiftly captured 17 suspects.

Investigators found that police officers among the detainees searched names of gang members, both wanted and not wanted, in Europol systems and shared sensitive data on international investigations with the organization.

Authorities say the name “Caspers” derives from the members’ own self-designation on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, where they allegedly post displays of force intended both to intimidate rivals and recruit new members.