Israel Police arrested 12 suspects on suspicion of attempted murder and extortion, with potential charges including fraud, conspiracy, and financial crimes, the police announced on Tuesday.
As part of the ongoing effort to combat serious crime and extortion, the Lahav 433 National Crime Unit, in cooperation with officers from the Galilee and Northern Districts, Border Police, and the Northern District Bomb Disposal Unit, conducted the arrests.
Some of the extortion was unfounded, while in other cases, the victims had taken loans from the suspects in the black market, and the suspects charged illegal interest rates in return.
The suspects reportedly used threats against the victims’ families, carried out shooting incidents, and even attempted to murder one of the victims.
Numerous searches conducted
During the operation, searches were conducted at 14 locations, resulting in the seizure of nine luxury vehicles, approximately 250,000 NIS in cash, documents, notebooks, computers, around 20 mobile phones, a flare gun, and fireworks, according to the police.
The suspects are being questioned by the police and will appear before a judge for a detention extension hearing, if necessary, depending on the case's progress.