Manager of arms factory arrested for selling Turkish rifle's production plans to American firm

Baku. 8 April. REPORT.AZ/ The manager of Turkey's major arms producer MKE's Kırıkkale factory, Mustafa Tanrıverdi, was detained on Thursday by security forces on charges of 'espionage'. Tanrıverdi was arrested later on the same day for "exploiting state secrets" and "disloyalty to the state."

Report informs referring to the Turkish media, Tanrıverdi was caught red-handed trying to sell all of the mechanical drawings and production plans of the National Infantry Rifle MPT76 to an American arms supplier for $1.2 million, the R&D of which cost the Defense Ministry $22 million.

The American firm's notice to the Turkish authorities paved the way to his capture. Upon the warning, a technical surveillance was imposed on Tanrıverdi.

Tanrıverdi was detained in a restaurant in Ankara's Söğütözü district where he arranged a meeting with the representatives of the American firm, who ultimately turned out to be officers that handed him the Bond bag full of money, the serial numbers of which were registered by the security forces beforehand.

He was taken under arrest upon his first step out of the restaurant by a special police team made up of detectives and officers from the Ankara Police Department Bureau of Organized Crimes.

M.Tanrıverdi confessed to having plotted to sell Turkey's first national infantry rifle project that would start mass production this year.

The Turkish defense industry has recently ramped up efforts to realize locally produced rifles.