Ecstasy (archives)
Photo: Sharon District spokesperson's unit
Israeli wanted in US on drug charges nabbed
Police arrest 50-year-old Haim Lavi, charged with drug trafficking, money laundering offense in US. Prosecution to request Lavi be declared extraditable
Following an extradition request by American authorities, police arrested 50-year-old Israeli citizen Haim Lavi, who fled to Israel from Canada after being indicted for various drug-related offences and money laundering in the United States.
Lavi was charged with federal crimes of conspiring to distribute Ecstasy pills, conspiring to launder the profits made from drug trafficking, and laundering the money made from drug deals.
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In the coming days the division for international affairs at the State Prosecutor's Office is slated to file a petition to the Jerusalem District Court to rule that he may be extradited.
In addition, the prosecution, represented by Attorney Talia Atar, is to request his remand be extended until a decision is made on his extradition.
According to the extradition request, in 2000, US customs agents posed as a gang of drug dealers and purchased 5,000 Ecstasy pills from Lavi.
The request also states that Lavi was charged with money laundering. He would allegedly use a truck he owned to transfer large sums of cash from the United States to Canada, where he would then transfer the money to bank accounts around the world.
According to the request, an undercover American agent asked Lavi to launder $50,000 for him. Lavi ended up laundering only $20,000, claiming that he was robbed before the full sum could be transferred to a Cayman Islands bank account.
Lavi's partner confessed to the allegations made against him in 2002, but Lavi, who was a resident of Canada, with an extradition request issued against him, fled to Israel and was only captured on Wednesday. Lavi has spent the past six years living in Petah Tikva.
