The end of the mastermind behind the empire? How Eyal Nagar became one of the most powerful criminals in the south

The most powerful criminal in Ashdod.

After the murder of his partner, crime boss Beni Shlomo, the Israeli underworld was certain that Eyal Nagar would weaken significantly, but the criminal reality proved otherwise.

Nagar strengthened his position in the Ashdod area to such an extent that police officials said, "He has taken over the city."

Immediately after Shlomo's murder, Nagar formed alliances with his sworn enemies — those whose crime organization had been at war for many years with the organization he and Shlomo led. The reconciliation with the Lavi brothers was highly publicized and sent a message to the entire underworld: "We are no longer enemies."

Nagar, who was already one of the senior criminals in Ashdod at the time, strengthened his status with additional alliances in the city and the region.

However, Nagar had created enemies; some of his former allies from Shlomo's organization were angered by the reconciliation with the Lavi brothers. Then a front of criminal war opened up with his former friends.

Just a few months ago, an explosive device was planted in Nagar's vehicle in Ashdod, and police officers who arrived at the scene following intelligence information prevented the assassination attempt.

The latest case, which led to Nagar's arrest along with several of his men, was the work of the Lachish Central Unit over the past year. Police Commissioner Dani Levy said this week after the case was exposed that following the arrests, the organization in question would lose its power for at least the coming years and would find it difficult to recover from the major police operation.

For many years, Eyal Nagar was considered one of the most intriguing and influential figures in the Israeli underworld. While many crime organizations rely primarily on brute force and explosive violence, Nagar was always perceived as an exception — "the smart man" who operates through strategy, composure, and financial sophistication. As the close partner and right-hand man of the late crime boss Beni Shlomo, he was crowned the "Finance Minister" of the organization; the man who managed the millions in cash flow, created business connections, and turned the organization into a financial powerhouse, one of the strongest on the Israeli crime map.

When Beni Shlomo was assassinated at a gas station in October 2022, many in the underworld believed that Nagar's days were numbered. The prevailing assessment was that without Shlomo's strong backing and deterrence, Nagar would quickly weaken and be pushed aside by his competitors. However, reality proved once again that he should not be written off. Instead of retreating, Nagar solidified his grip, expanded his activities in Ashdod, and accumulated so much power that senior police officials were forced to admit: "He has taken over the city."

Nagar's path to the top in Ashdod began years earlier, when he was "exiled" from his hometown of Rehovot following a bloody conflict with the Lavi crime family. In Ashdod, he had to build his status from scratch, while dealing with assassination attempts, rivalries with Shalom Domrani's organization, and power struggles against the Russian mafia led by Michael Tansky. Nagar survived all of these and learned to navigate skillfully within the local map of alliances.

Immediately after Shlomo's murder, Nagar made a move that completely reshuffled the deck and stunned the top of the underworld: he initiated a public and highly publicized reconciliation with his bitterest enemies — brothers Amos and Ofir Lavi. The meeting, held at an event hall in Yehud, ended a long-standing rivalry that had been accompanied by bloodshed and even a bomb explosion at Amos Lavi's wedding. The move not only guaranteed Nagar peace on this front but turned the Lavis from pursuers into strategic partners. At the same time, he strengthened other coalitions throughout Ashdod, led by the alliance with the "Georgian gang," which gave him strong operational backing. According to the suspicion, his businesses expanded into the fields of loan sharking, extortion (protection), and money laundering.

However, the success and sophistication came at a heavy price. The surprising reconciliation was perceived as a betrayal by some of his former allies from Beni Shlomo's organization. The rage led to the opening of a new and dangerous front — a bloody crime war against his former friends, who saw him as someone who had crossed the line. The threats to his life increased, and just a few months ago, a dramatic assassination attempt was thwarted when police officers located a powerful explosive device planted in his vehicle in Ashdod and neutralized it at the last moment following intelligence information.

The most significant blow to his status was dealt this week by the Lachish Central Unit, which had been conducting a covert and intensive investigation into him and his men over the past year. The police operation ended in a widespread wave of arrests, in which Nagar and several senior members of his organization were captured. Police Commissioner Dani Levy addressed the operational achievement this week and clarified that it was a critical blow to the organizational infrastructure: according to police estimates, the organization will lose its power significantly for at least the coming years and will find it very difficult to recover from the blow dealt to it.