Cleared for publication: Three undercover agents employed by investigators from the Southern District Central Unit of the police led to the revelation of a sponsorship extortion case that has been going on in recent years against contractors and families, in the area they were supposed to move to due to the development of Route 6 towards Nabatieh. Investigators from the IDF investigated six suspects in the extortion acts, their detention was extended from time to time, and today (Monday) indictments and a request for detention until the end of the proceedings will be filed by the prosecution.
Sponsorship case in the south, credit: Police spokeswoman
The covert investigation revealed that as infrastructure work progressed in the Umm Batin area, as part of paving Road 6 in the south, it emerged that families living along the planned road route did not move to the alternate plots as a person living nearby decided and declared that the land belonged to him and that all contractors were obligated to provide security services.
Following the information, the police operated three undercover agents simultaneously for about six months and they managed to gather evidence that indicated cases of extortion with serious threats against development contractors and families amounting to hundreds of thousands of shekels that did not allow them to continue infrastructure work and pave Road 6.
In one case, as it turned out, a masked motorcyclist came to the area, approached a contractor who worked there and told him, “Get out of the area. You should not get involved.”
- Are you afraid of the vaccine for Corona? These are the things you must know Click for details
As stated, at the end of the covert investigation, the police decided to move on to the open investigation and even earlier on the arrest of the six suspects, members of one family, who appropriated state lands and imposed their guardianship on anyone who came to the scene and demanded various payments.
During the open investigation, an economic forfeiture activity was carried out during which vehicles and property that were allegedly purchased with the funds transferred to them by the victims over the years were taken. Today, at the end of the investigation, the Southern District Attorney’s Office will file indictments and a request for detention until the end of the proceedings against all the suspects involved.
“The treatment of extortion threats is mostly carried out on the covert and intelligence level and requires the use of the various tools available to the police. These offenses affect the citizen’s sense of security and we will continue to work to bring these criminals to justice. “