The Israel Police dealt a massive blow to organized crime Monday, arresting 50 individuals affiliated with a major crime syndicate based in central Israel, and seizing various assets. Details of the investigation, dubbed "Case 512," have been placed under a partial gag order. The investigation has been a joint operation of the Lahav 443 Major Crimes Unit, Police Intelligence, the International Crime Investigations Unit, and the Tel Aviv District Police's Central Unit. The Tel Aviv and Central District prosecutions oversaw the investigation, the statement said. According to available information, the suspects have been linked to over 30 unsolved cases over the last decade, and face charges of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and money laundering, as well as a slew of conspiracy charges. One of the cases cracked as part of the investigation dates back to December 2003, when three people were killed and 19 others were injured in a botched assassination attempt in Tel Aviv against crime boss Zeev Rosenstein, who escaped unscathed. It was the seventh attempt on Rosenstein's life by rival underworld syndicates. Notorious crime boss Yitzhak Abergil was one of three major underworld figures arrested in the case on Monday, the police said. According to investigators, the syndicate's reach extended to several countries overseas. One police official described the multiple arrests as "an earthquake in the criminal world," as it has all but crippled one of the larger crime syndicates operating in Israel. Channel 10 quoted an unnamed police official as saying the case will "change the balance of power" between the police and organized crime syndicates in Israel. Forty-four of the suspects were arraigned before the Rishon Lezion Magistrates' Court on Tuesday morning, and remanded for 15 days. Given the large number of suspects arraigned in the same case, and the innate sensitivities involved in having multiple underworld figures at the same place at the same time, large police forces secured the court and its surrounding area. One police source said that over 100 defectives and police officers were assigned to secure the transport route and court compound. Speaking at the annual Israeli Bar Association conference in Eilat, Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino hinted Monday at the scope of the case, saying, "This is one of the largest and most significant investigations the Israel Police has ever conducted. "Our efforts to fight organized crimes are relentless, and they will soon result in serious indictments against one of the [crime] syndicates. This struggles generates significant deterrence among the crime syndicates." The past few years have seen the police employ a multi-pronged strategy to fight organized crime, which includes, other than arresting top underworld figures, targeting syndicates' financial infrastructure on all levels.
Credit: Moshe Ben Simhon, Roei Kastro
"Large police forces raided the homes of dozens of suspects and persons of interest, some of whom are known underworld figures, and arrested 50 individuals," a police statement issued Monday said, adding computers, documents, cash, cars, bank accounts, and other assets were seized in the raid.
Major Israeli crime syndicate toppled, police say
Fifty suspects arrested in raid that deals organized crime in Israel its biggest blow in decades • This is "an earthquake in the criminal world," says official • "Our efforts to fight organized crimes are relentless," says police chief Yohanan Danino.
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