Dresses and jewelry as bait: how the courier robbers operated in Lod and Ramle
The suspects ordered deliveries under fake names and coordinated meetings, after which masked men waited for the couriers with hammers, knives, and pepper spray. In four recorded cases, couriers were robbed of money, jewelry, and merchandise, and in one incident, a courier was beaten with a hammer and 8,100 shekels were stolen.
The method was carefully planned: 26-year-old Jamila Tarkman from Jaffa ordered products from various businesses using fake names and addresses. She coordinated the arrival of couriers at pre-determined locations, where 20-year-old Lod residents Muhammad Al-Touri and Ahmad Muslach waited for them. The attackers were masked and equipped with, among other things, pepper spray.
In four incidents that occurred in Lod and Ramle, couriers were attacked and robbed of money, jewelry, and merchandise. In one case, it is alleged, a courier was beaten with a hammer and 8,100 shekels, along with a dress he had arrived to deliver, were stolen from him.
Al-Touri and Muslach are cousins who, according to the indictment, maintained a friendly relationship with Tarkman. Between June and August 2026, the three conspired to commit robberies and discussed the division of the loot. Tarkman would update her accomplices on the courier's arrival time and the meeting location.
The goal of the plan, according to the prosecution, was to take deliveries, money, and property from the couriers "using violence." Al-Touri and Muslach would arrive at meeting places, usually in a rented car, masked and armed.
In June, Tarkman ordered a gold bracelet worth about 4,600 shekels and arranged a meeting on Kadoshei Kehilat Mizrach Street in Lod. When the courier arrived, she claimed she could not approach him because her mother was in a wheelchair and asked him to come to a nearby building. There, Al-Touri and Muslach, armed with pepper spray, a hammer, and an object resembling a pistol, attacked the courier. One of the attackers hit him in the back with a hammer. During the struggle, the bracelet fell, and the suspects took it. The courier was also sprayed with pepper spray, and one of the attackers threatened him: "If you continue, I'll put a bullet in you."
Afterwards, they smashed the courier's car window and, finding no other valuables, fled. The prosecution claims the bracelet was later sold for 2,000 shekels.
In another charge, Tarkman ordered a product worth 2,500 shekels, introducing herself as "Miriam." She set a meeting on Rachel Alter Street in Lod and asked the courier to go up to the third floor. Meanwhile, Al-Touri and Muslach removed the rear license plate from their car and arrived masked. They ambushed the courier, sprayed his face with pepper spray, beat him, and tried to take the package. After failing, they smashed his car window and stole 7,176 shekels.
One of the charges involves only Ahmad Muslach and Jamila Tarkman. In June, Tarkman ordered jewelry worth 8,000 shekels from a business in Tuba-Zangariyye and arranged for delivery on HaShalom Street in Ramle. When the courier arrived, she instructed him to go up to the third floor. According to the indictment, Muslach and three unidentified masked individuals followed him. One of them sprayed the courier, and they beat him and stole the jewelry. They then went down to his car, smashed the windows, and took other jewelry worth about 10,000 shekels and 42 shekels in cash.
About three weeks ago, Tarkman ordered a dress worth 620 shekels to be paid in cash. The courier arrived at an address on Shlomo HaMelech Street in Lod, where Tarkman, using a fake name, instructed him to go up to the second floor. At that moment, Al-Touri and Muslach, armed with pepper spray, a hammer, and knives, ambushed him. They sprayed the courier, beat him with a hammer and fists, and forcibly took the package. They then smashed his car window and stole 8,100 shekels in cash. The suspects were arrested by police detectives while attempting to flee. The police had been tracking their movements via drone, observing their preparation for the attack and the robbery itself.
The three defendants, who have no prior criminal record, are charged with armed group robbery, aggravated assault, and vehicle break-in. The prosecution has requested that they be held in custody until the end of the proceedings, arguing that these were "a series of violent and well-planned robberies."
