Law enforcement forces in Edirne caught 5,033 people suspected of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) trying to cross the border to Europe in 10 years.
Some of the members of the organization, who were planning to avoid prosecution after FETO's treacherous coup attempt, tried to escape to Greece via Edirne.
The 54th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, 4th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, 9th Border Brigade, Edirne Police Department and Gendarmerie Command teams did not allow many FETO suspects who tried to escape by infiltrating irregular immigrants or with the cooperation of different terrorist organizations to pass through the border.
Security forces have detained 5,033 suspects at the border line since July 15, 2016, when FETO attempted a treacherous coup attempt. It was determined that the suspects included soldiers, judges, prosecutors, teachers, police, academics and lawyers who were dismissed from the profession by the Decree Law.
There are also important names of the organization among those captured.
Halil Kumcu, who was among those who detained the then Gendarmerie General Commander, retired General Galip Mendi, who was attending a wedding in Ankara Gazi Army House on the night of the coup attempt, and took him to Akıncı Base, was caught by border unit soldiers while trying to cross the border in 2017 and sent to prison. Kumcu was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for "attempting to abolish the constitutional order" at the decision hearing of the Akıncı Base case with 475 defendants in November 2020.
Murat Çapan, the director of the closed Nokta magazine, who was among those captured by the border soldiers and sentenced to 22 years and 6 months in prison for "inciting the public to armed rebellion against the government of the Republic of Turkey", was also sent to prison.
Yunus Yaman, the Colombian leader of the organization, was caught at the Edirne border in 2017 and sent to prison in Istanbul.
Former colonel Mahmut Erel, who was exposed with the "FETOMETER" application while he was serving at the Naval Forces Command in İpsala, could not escape the gendarmerie. Erel was sent to prison in Ankara in 2019 for "membership in an armed terrorist organization".
They tried to escape with members of other terrorist organizations
Among the group in which Azimet Ceyhan, a member of the terrorist organization MLKP, who is in the blue category on the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Wanted List for Terrorism, was captured, two former officers suspected of FETO and a woman who is a member of the terrorist organization PKK were also taken into custody on May 30, 2019.
Sümeyye Gülen, the nephew of FETO leader Fetullah Gülen, was caught in June 2022 while trying to escape to Greece by crossing the Meriç River. 4 FETO members, including Sümeyye Gülen, were sent to prison.
FETO members' escape plans to Greece were reflected in their correspondence
The activities of FETO's so-called "imam" to smuggle members of the organization to Greece via the Evros River were detected in phone messages.
As a result of the activities carried out by the Edirne Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the correspondence of FETO members was deciphered.
In the correspondence made via WhatsApp by the FETO members identified by the prosecutor's office, they said: "If there are those who are coming, they should come by the end of December. The flow rate of the Meriç River will increase in January. It is a bit difficult, especially for families. February is a difficult month because", "I will take two of our brothers from Istanbul tonight", "Say hello to our friends in Greece", "There is 1 person missing for Wednesday, if there is an urgent need, let me know", "There is a queue, I will call you." "If we could at least get the boat, we could rehearse the boat inflation." "Did you have any difficulties getting on the boat? What did you experience while crossing the river with the boat? What did you do when you went to the town in Greece? Where did you go and where did you stay?" Expressions such as this attracted attention.
In December 2025, an operation was carried out by the Edirne Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against the "current student structure" of FETO based in Edirne.
Within the scope of the investigation, in line with the communication findings and the MASAK report, a simultaneous operation was carried out in Edirne, Istanbul, Bursa, Bilecik and Çanakkale under the coordination of the Edirne Police Department Anti-Terrorism Branch Directorate and the Intelligence Branch Directorate.
12 suspects, including current and graduate students of Trakya University, were detained on charges of "being a member of an armed terrorist organization".
During searches at the addresses of the suspects, 15 mobile phones, 12 SIM cards, 6 tablets, 11 laptops, 6 memory cards, 6 hard disks, 5 external memories, a book published by a publishing house that was closed due to its affiliation with FETO, 6 thousand dollars, 184 thousand liras and 61 grams of gold were seized.
6 suspects who were determined to be within the current student structure of the organization were sent to prison.
In May, Keşan District Police Department Intelligence Branch and Counter-Terrorism Bureau teams stopped a car at the entrance of the district upon information that there might be suspects trying to cross the country illegally. During the checks carried out on the vehicle, 4 judges who had been dismissed from their duties due to FETO membership were taken into custody. After being processed at the police station, the suspects were sent to the courthouse and sent to prison.
In June, 6 suspects, including a dismissed ÖSYM expert, the chief auditor of the Court of Accounts, soldiers and teachers, who attempted to escape from the border line, were taken into custody. The suspects were sent to prison by the judgeship.