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21 held for organised crime
29/09/2005 22:02 - (SA)
Jerusalem - Police have uncovered an organised crime family allegedly involved in killings, extortion and money laundering, arresting 21 people and seizing a large arsenal of rifles and explosives, said a spokesperson on Thursday.
The arrests capped one of Israel's largest police operations targeting organised crime.
Israel was considered an important outpost for Russian organised crime, but also had several homegrown crime families involved in illegal gambling, loan-sharking and money laundering.
Micky Rosenfeld of police said: "Israel today is dealing with a lot of organised crime."
One-time petty criminal
The alleged head of the crime family arrested this week was identified as Yossi Musseli, a one-time petty criminal who police said ascended to prominence through money laundering and casino gambling in Romania.
Rosenfeld said searches of the suspects' apartments yielded 13 bombs, a large quantity of explosives, two long-range rifles, seven pistols and a stockpile of ammunition.
Musseli's organisation, based in Tel Aviv, was suspected in the June killing of one man and the attempted killing of another.
Police said both had previous connections to Musseli. Rosenfeld said, at one point, Musseli's lieutenants placed a bomb outside an apartment building in an attempt to kill their target, but police defused the device.
Two witnesses aided police in their investigation. Israeli newspapers reported that one was a lawyer who acted as an informant for the police after he was caught smuggling a knife to one of his imprisoned clients.
- AP
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