Spiegel: Turkish crime gang may be behind Starlink station arson in Poland

The German magazine Der Spiegel, citing its sources, reports that a Turkish criminal group called the Daltons may have been involved in the arson of a Starlink satellite ground station in the village of Wola Krobowska, in Poland's Masovian province. Starlink is the satellite internet service operated by SpaceX. Spiegel suggests Russian intelligence services may have commissioned the attack.

The station caught fire on September 23. Polish authorities described the incident as deliberate sabotage and blamed Russia.

Two Turkish citizens detained

At Poland's request, two Turkish citizens suspected of taking part in the arson were arrested on October 12 in the German town of Nürtingen. Spiegel named them as Ümit E., 38, and Müslüm T., 34. According to the outlet, they probably belong to the Daltons, or at least may have acted on the instructions of the gang's supporters. A court in Stuttgart is expected to decide in the coming days whether to extradite the two men to Poland.

A possible shift in Russian tactics

Spiegel notes that Russian intelligence has so far relied mainly on low-level agents, such as petty criminals who took jobs for small sums, to carry out sabotage in Europe. If the involvement of Daltons supporters is confirmed, the outlet says, it would point to a change in Russian intelligence strategy.

Who the Daltons are

The group was formed in 2024. The Azerbaijani news site Haqqin.az reports that its members are mostly young people born in 2000 or later. In Turkey, the Daltons were involved in the killing of Serdar Öktem, a prominent lawyer and member of the Nationalist Movement Party, who was shot dead in his car in Istanbul. Members have also operated in Germany and other European countries, engaging in protection racketeering, arms trafficking and contract killings.

The gang's leader, Beratcan Gökdemir, was arrested in Russia in 2024, according to Spiegel. Turkey demanded his extradition, but Russia never handed him over. Experts have speculated that the Kremlin may have hoped to get something from the Daltons in return. It is unclear whether Gökdemir is still in Russia.