On Tuesday, Turkey announced that it had arrested and deported three Uzbek nationals who are suspected of being involved in the murder of Rabbi Tzvi Kogan Hy”d, an Israeli-Moldovan citizen, in the United Arab Emirates over the weekend.

Sources within Turkish security, who spoke to Middle East Eye on the condition of anonymity, revealed that the operation was carried out at the request of the UAE government.

Rabbi Kogan, who had been operating a kosher market in Dubai since 2020, was killed on Saturday in an attack that UAE authorities have labeled as premeditated. Investigations into the incident found that the suspects – Alimbay Tahirovic, 28; Mahmudcan Abdurrahim, 28; and Azizbek Kamilovic, 33 – had fled the UAE after the murder.

Their movements were traced to Turkey, prompting the UAE to seek help from the Turkish government.

The Turkish National Intelligence Agency, in collaboration with Turkish police, located the suspects after tracking their flight to Istanbul. The operation was conducted discreetly to avoid alerting the individuals.

According to the same sources, the suspects were arrested during a routine traffic stop when security forces detained them in a taxi and confirmed their identities.

Once in custody, the individuals were quickly extradited to the UAE, where they are expected to face charges for Rabbi Kogan’s death, the sources said.

“The Republic of Turkey will continue its sensitive work to ensure that no criminals are housed within its borders as part of the fight against terrorism,” one of the sources commented.

Emirati officials confirmed on Sunday that three people had been arrested in connection with Kogan’s murder and that legal proceedings had begun to charge them.

In a statement released Tuesday, the UAE’s foreign ministry expressed gratitude to Turkey for its assistance in the matter.

Initially, Israeli officials blamed Turkey for the killing, since the suspects had fled there, but later revised their position. They now suspect the Uzbek nationals were hired guns working for unidentified parties, and therefore cannot attribute a clear motive or connection to the murder.

Relations between Turkey and Israel have deteriorated since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel. The ongoing Gaza conflict, which has been characterized as genocide, led Turkey to impose a trade embargo on Israel in May and join an International Court of Justice case accusing Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

{Matzav.com}