3 break-ins in a week: hundreds of thousands of shekels stolen from apartments in Rishon LeZion

Stickers designed to alter scooter license plates, helmets to conceal faces, and a black mask—this, according to an indictment filed at the Magistrate's Court in Rishon LeZion, was the modus operandi of 61-year-old Ilan Barak from Rishon LeZion and 44-year-old Aviv Vaknin from Bat Yam. The two are accused of conspiring to commit residential burglaries and stealing property worth hundreds of thousands of shekels. The indictment attributes three break-in incidents to the pair in less than a week.

According to the indictment, Barak and Vaknin equipped themselves in advance with stickers of the digit 8, matching the size and shape of the digits on their scooters' license plates. They allegedly used these to alter their plates before each break-in "in order to blur their identity and their tracks."

The first incident occurred about three weeks ago on Zvi Frank Street in Rishon LeZion. After arriving on their scooters and altering the plates, the pair broke into an apartment, causing significant disarray. They stole gold and silver jewelry, approximately $1,500 in cash, and several bottles of alcohol.

Three days later, another incident took place on Achi Lahav Street. The pair broke into an apartment and ripped a wall-mounted safe from its place. The safe contained 3,000 shekels in cash and jewelry—including watches, rings, and earrings—valued at 44,000 shekels. To conceal the theft, they piled bags of equipment where the safe had been.

The third charge involves a burglary on Koresh Street. It was discovered that a week prior, Vaknin had visited the building to scout the entrance. On the day of the break-in, after the owners left, a third unidentified accomplice joined them. Barak entered the building wearing a black helmet, while Vaknin wore a white helmet and a black mask.

"Inside the house, they opened the shutter that closed the storage space in the ceiling attic. From there, gold coins worth 49,500 shekels were taken, as well as jewelry including watches, rings, chains, bracelets, and earrings with a total value of 157,900 shekels," the indictment states.

Barak and Vaknin face charges of conspiracy, breaking and entering, theft, forgery of vehicle identification marks, and malicious damage to property. The state has announced it will seek the forfeiture of the two scooters used in the crimes.