This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Twenty-five police officers have been arrested by Turkish authorities in the latest nationwide swoop to detain suspects alleged to have illegally wiretapped key government figures, including the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, reports said.

Police carried out raids in 12 cities, including Istanbul and Izmir, as part of an investigation into allegations of espionage and illegal wiretapping, the private Doğan news agency reported.

The swoop on Tuesday was the third such roundup since July in a probe that has resulted in dozens of arrests and raised tensions as Erdoğan prepares for his inauguration as president on 28 August.

The probe is linked to last year's corruption allegations against Erdoğan and his inner circle – vehemently denied by the premier – that were based on wiretapped telephone conversations.

In a statement, the Izmir governor's office said the arrests centred on wiretapping allegations involving the Izmir police department between 2010 and 2013. The suspects were facing a series of charges, from forming a crime ring to forging official documents and violation of privacy, Doğan said.

Among the detainees was the former Izmir police intelligence deputy head, Hasan Ali Okan. He was removed from his position after what appeared to be a broader government purge of Turkey's police in the aftermath of the corruption claims in December.

Erdoğan's government has embarked on a widespread inquiry targeting the police and judiciary, believed to be filled with loyalists of the US-based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gülen, whom it blames for the allegations.

Gülen, a former ally of Erdoğan's Islamic-rooted Justice and Development party (AKP), has become his arch-foe since the scandal.

As with the two previous raids, the details of the swoop were leaked by a shadowy Twitter user named Fuat Avni before it was carried out. The government has repeatedly tried to block his account.