"The Israeli Drug King of Goa" has disappeared from Indian authorities again

Yaniv Benaim, the Israeli dubbed in the media in India and Israel as the "Drug King of Goa", has disappeared again after being released on bail - about 16 years after his previous disappearance. This is according to media reports today (Wednesday) in Goa. Benaim, also known by the name Ben Naim and the nickname "Atala", did not appear on August 24 before the court hearing the new drug case against him.

The Anti-Narcotics Cell of the Goa Police informed the court that Benaim, 52, from Rishon LeZion, is defined as a fugitive and that attempts are being made to locate him. It was further stated that a border alert has been issued against him, intended to allow his detention at border crossings and prevent his departure from the country. Simultaneously, an arrest warrant without the possibility of release on bail is pending against him. The court set the next hearing in his case for next month.

Benaim was arrested on April 5, 2025, at a house he rented in the village of Siolim in North Goa. According to the Goa Police, a search of the premises yielded 50 grams of cocaine, 110 grams of hashish, and 40,000 rupees in cash. The value of the drugs was estimated at approximately 870,000 rupees, which is about 27,000 shekels. Police officer Tikam Singh Verma told local media at the time that even before the raid, Benaim was under intelligence surveillance.

In August 2025, Benaim was released on bail under restrictive conditions. The state of Goa appealed the decision, and the Bombay High Court in Goa cancelled the bail in July of this year and ordered him to file a new application to the court hearing the case. The application was rejected on August 14, and after Benaim failed to appear for the hearing, the arrest warrant was issued against him.

Following his arrest, another case was opened against Benaim on suspicion of staying in India without a valid passport or visa. According to media in India, investigators found records of three different Israeli passports in his name as well as an Indian biometric identification card. The authorities have launched an investigation to clarify the way in which the card was issued to him.

Benaim's name had already been at the center of an affair that shook Goa in the past. As published on Walla in August 2010, he was arrested on March 9 of that year on suspicion of ties to a drug network in which police officers were also allegedly involved. The affair exploded after his former partner published videos in which he was documented boasting about his connections with police personnel and the access he claimed to have to confiscated drugs.

Benaim was released on bail at the time and was forbidden from leaving Goa, but he disappeared. The Home Minister of Goa ordered an investigation into his disappearance, while the local opposition claimed that elements in the police helped him escape. It later turned out that he had reached Israel. He was located and arrested in Peru in January 2011 and was extradited back to India.

Now, more than a decade and a half after the previous escape, the authorities in Goa are searching for him again.