On Friday, German authorities arrested a Turkish man in Düsseldorf possessing weapons and a list of supporters of a the Gulen movement, which the Turkish government has labeled "terrorists."
Germany's federal prosecutor general announced that the investigation was being treated as a case of suspected espionage on behalf of the Turkish state.
The investigation resulted from a raid on a Düsseldorf hotel that saw the arrest of a Turkish man identified as Ali D.
Federal Prosecutor General Peter Frank revealed that Ali D. was under investigation on suspicion of collecting information on supporters of the Gulen movement in the Cologne area.
On September 17, an employee of the niu Tab hotel in Düsseldorf caught a guest with a weapon. Then, special police forces searched the hotel for hours as surrounding streets were cordoned off, according to DW.
Later, they found a pistol and 200 rounds of ammunition on Ali D. along with documents containing the names of supporters of the Gulen movement.
In this regard, authorities affirmed that people who might have been in danger due to their presence on the lists of supporters contained in the documents had been notified.
Prosecutors believe Ali D. was acting on behalf of and under the guidance of MIT, the Turkish intelligence service., claiming messages on his cell phone suggest as much. He is currently in custody.
Ali D. had initially been investigated on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a crime and for breaching German gun laws.
The federal prosecutor general's spokesperson on Friday said "sufficient evidence" had since emerged to make the case a counter-intelligence matter.
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