Turkey detains 85 people over Starlink station arson in Poland

On 27 October, Turkish police carried out raids in 30 provinces against the "Daltons" group and detained 85 people. The group is suspected of involvement in the arson of a Starlink satellite communications ground station in Poland. Among those detained are 35 minors.

Der Spiegel journalists reported the Turkish group's possible involvement in the 23 September arson. The station is located in the village of Wola Krobowska, south of Warsaw.

The arson took place on 23 September. According to a representative of Poland's Internal Security Agency, two masked people got past the fence, poured flammable liquid and set fire to the station's equipment.

In September 2026, a fire broke out in the Masovian Voivodeship at a station with a Starlink ground gateway. The Polish authorities considered a sabotage scenario.

On 12 October, in Nürtingen, Germany, two Turkish citizens aged 34 and 38, Umit E. and Müslüm T., were detained under European warrants and at Poland's request. A German court kept them in custody pending transfer to Poland.

The ABW agency said that Polish investigators suspect them of sabotage and of working for foreign intelligence.

On 13 October, two more people, including a woman, were detained in Poland in the same case.

According to investigators, the group recruited people through social networks, added them to WhatsApp groups and gave them assignments for attacks. Investigators believe that some of those detained were preparing new attacks.

In the 27 October operation, according to the Anadolu agency, 85 people were detained in 30 provinces. The raids targeted the Istanbul-based group.

The "Daltons" group is reported to be involved in extortion, arms trafficking and contract killings in Turkey and European countries.

The alleged leader, Beratcan Gökdemir, known as Can Dalton, is, according to Turkish investigators, on Interpol's international wanted list. In 2024 he was detained in Russia but, despite Turkey's requests, was not extradited. Der Spiegel journalists write that he may be in Russia.

Poland's minister-coordinator of special services, Tomasz Siemoniak, blamed Russian intelligence for the arson. Turkish investigators, by their account, are convinced that the group is run from Russia. In the available materials, Moscow has not stated its position on these accusations.

German intelligence services allow that Moscow may have given the "Daltons" leader protection in expectation of services in return. According to a transcript reported by Spiegel, Russia hired the Turkish group to burn the Starlink terminal.