Police officers on Wednesday arrested 38 members of the Abu
Latif crime family in a massive operation, resulting in 24 indictments for allegedly
using blackmail and extortion to obtain local government contracts.
Several infamous members of the family were caught in the
operation, including family head Suleiman Abu Latif and former chairman of
soccer club Hapoel Ironi Arraba, Nissim Sah, who was sentenced to 14 years in
prison for killing a police officer and injuring another in 2021.
The investigation was focused on the extortion and blackmail
of local contractors in order to monopolize the market. The family also
extorted local businesses for protection money.
Contractors who failed to cooperate with the organization
were harassed and retaliated against until they relented or gave up the
contracts.
Investigators suspect that the family were able to extort
tenders from the Defense Ministry, including those that involved multiple
sensitive areas of the border.
Police said the goal of the arrests was to halt the group’s
economic activity, which police estimate reaches hundreds of millions of
shekels.
Officers seized dozens of luxury vehicles worth millions of
shekels from the family members.
The operation was conducted in cooperation with various
units of the police and financial authorities, such as Border Police and Unit
433, as well as the Tax Authority, the Attorney General’s Office, and the Money
Laundering Authority.
Abu Latif family criminal organization
Police estimate that the Abu Latif family’s feuds with other
organizations have claimed the lives of over 30 people in the last two years;
over that period, 473 Arabs have been murdered, according to the Abraham
Initiative.
The Abu Latif family is one of the largest crime families in
Israel, operating primarily in the North from their home village of Rama, but
are also found throughout the country.
Members of the Rama Local Council, who were also members of
the Abu Latif family, were involved in extorting local businesses through the
planting of explosives and shootings, leading the Attorney-General’s Office to
request their suspension.
In December, a member of the organization was charged with
racketeering, having extorted tens of thousands of shekels from small
businesses.
The family was also involved in the “Black Billion,” a tax
evasion scheme that hid billions of shekels from the tax authorities.
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