Caught red-handed: how the criminal organization's hit squad was captured
Detectives arrested the 19-year-old main suspect "red-handed" in Yarka while he was armed and masked after shooting at a business employee, and only upon removing the mask did they discover it was the fugitive hitman they were looking for. The squad members prepared in advance for the hit in the Golan Heights, rented a vacation cabin in the town, and arrived in vehicles purchased specifically at a car lot in Isfiya.
At the conclusion of a complex investigation by the Central Unit (YAMAR) of the Northern District, this morning (Thursday), the Northern District Attorney's Office, through attorneys Yael Katz, Lusana Saig, and Tom Yairi, will file serious indictments at the Nazareth District Court against three members of a criminal organization's hit squad. The three squad members — residents of Sajur (43), Samia (28), and Kiryat Shmona (19) — are accused of involvement in a double murder in the Golan Heights, with an additional charge of attempted murder in Yarka filed against the 19-year-old.
The investigation into the affair began last June 19, following gunfire at a vehicle in the town of Buq'ata in the Golan Heights. As a result of the shooting, the deaths of Marwan Abu Shahin, 52, a resident of Buq'ata, and Saada Saada, 56, a resident of Hurfeish, were confirmed. The Northern District Commander, Nitzav Meir Eliyahu, held a situational assessment at the scene and assigned the investigation to the YAMAR.
During the covert investigation, investigators discovered that the squad members had organized in advance to carry out the murder: the day before the incident, they rented a vacation cabin in Buq'ata and arrived there with two vehicles they had purchased from a car lot in Isfiya. With the transition to an overt investigation, several suspects were arrested and the vehicle used for the murder was seized in the city of Kiryat Shmona, but the 19-year-old main suspect remained on the run.
On July 5, during operational activity to locate the fugitive in the town of Yarka, YAMAR detectives identified a masked man exiting a business after he had carried out a shooting there at an employee who was seriously wounded. The detectives moved to engage and arrested the shooter while he was armed with a pistol. Only upon removing the mask did the detectives discover that the shooter from Yarka was the main suspect in the double murder in Buq'ata whom they had been searching for intensively.
Nitzav Meir Eliyahu stated following the resolution:
"Solving murder cases and preventing serious crime are at the top of the Northern District's priorities. The Northern District Police invests its best resources, technological means, and intelligence capabilities to solve every case and bring the suspects to justice."
