One of the two UAE spies apprehended by Turkey earlier this month committed suicide in Silivri prison, reports said early Monday.

Turkey arrested the two intelligence operatives, who confessed to spying on Arab nationals on behalf of the UAE, in Istanbul on April 15. One of them is suspected of having connections to the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed more than six months ago by a Saudi hit squad.

The two UAE nationals were detained as part of an investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the two were referred to a court to be arrested on charges of military, political and international espionage.

Reports say the suspects identified as S.S. and Z.H. also said that the aim of the spy ring was to create an anti-Turkey structure. S.S. came under the radar of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) for his meetings and was taken under physical and technical surveillance, according to government officials. The MIT also detected that he was gathering information from his contacts in exchange for money.

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