The stolen fish
Photo: Courtesy of Israel Police
Gang caught stealing 25 tons of fish
Seven suspects, five of them Bedouin, apprehended by Negev police for allegedly stealing everything from parquet flooring to boutique cheese and transferring proceeds to Palestinian territories. Police: They are organized network with operations officer, burglars, drivers, and truck loaders'
Negev police arrested Tuesday nine members of a gang of burglars who allegedly wreaked havoc on business owners throughout the country.
The seven were apprehended in Beit Shemesh during a joint police and Border Guard operation. The gang members were caught red-handed as they were breaking into a fish storehouse, from which they stole 25 tons of fish. Their truck was packed to the hilt with salmon, mullet, and sea bream.
25 tons of fish (Photo: Courtesy of Israel Police)
Chief Superintendent Yossi Cohen, commander of the Negev Central Command, told Ynet that the gang was well-organized and worked systematically throughout the country. The estimated value of the stolen goods – including parquet flooring, aluminum sheeting, and boutique cheeses – is estimated at millions of shekels. It is suspected that the gang transferred money earned from the burglaries to the Palestinian territories.
Negev Central Command police followed the gang members to gather information on them in the past months. The evidence collected on them points to five separate burglaries. During the sixth break-in, the police decided to arrest the seven gang members, all in their 20s and 30s. Five of those arrested are residents of the Tel Sheva, a Bedouin town in the Negev.
They were a well-organized network. They had an operations officer, burglars, drivers, and truck loaders," said Cohen. "When they finished the job, they knew where to go. They planned on smuggling the 25 tons of fish to a factory in Kalansuwa. They did good prep work, neutralizing alarm systems, and managing a network of truck drivers who loaded the stolen goods onto them."
Cohen also said that the seven's activities caused serious economic damage to business owners. "Each break-in could have spelled economic collapse for a small factory owner. It is likely that they were even involved in other burglaries that we don't know about," said Cohen. The seven men were brought in for questioning and have exercised their right to remain silent.
