Drug dealers going to jail
Photo: Central District, Israel Police
Mobsters get unprecedented jail terms
Drug dealers sentenced to more than 25 years in prison; convict threatens judge with revenge
Fight against organized crime stepped up: For the first time in the State of Israel's history, drug dealing mobsters were sent to as many as 27 years in prison.
The Tel Aviv District Court sent a total of 14 convicts belonging to two mob organizations to prison Monday, in one of the first cases where a new law aimed at fighting crime organizations is being utilized.
The reading of the sentence was followed by a chaotic scene at the courtroom, with one of the convicts threatening Justice Uri Shohan: "You'll be hearing from us when the day comes."
Muhammad Shurfi, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison, yelled at the judge: "I did not murder anyone. It's because I'm Arab." Meanwhile, Moussa Abu Shahade was sentenced to 27 years in jail and Omar Abu Shahade, who was in charge of his mob organization's financial operations, was sentenced to 26 years. Another mobster, Hafez Surfi, was sentenced to 26.5 years in prison.
The convicts were also slapped with heavy fines.
The court ruled that the crime organizations involved in the case gravely undermined the State of Israel's social fabric, and noted that they constituted a well-oiled machine involved in the production and trading of drugs, including heroin and cocaine.
Attorney Rachel Avisar of the Prosecutor's Office characterized the case as unprecedented in its gravity.
"With this sentence, the court accepted the prosecutor's position in favor of imposing severe punishments, as part of the ongoing Prosecutor's Office's struggle against crime organizations," she said.
