"Go get Dad some perfume": Haifa parents used their young children for a series of thefts in Eilat
A couple from Haifa, Eliran and Sivan Buhbut, are accused of a series of thefts from Eilat stores totaling over 100,000 NIS. They used their young children in their criminal schemes to distract staff.
On July 7, 2026, the defendants, 39-year-old Eliran and 36-year-old Sivan Buhbut from Haifa, entered the STORY store on the Neptune Hotel promenade in Eilat with their minor children. They stole items valued at 2,414.90 NIS after removing security tags with a specialized device. By these actions, the couple conspired to commit theft through deception and without legal grounds.
This incident marked the first of 15 charges against the Buhbut couple. During their vacation in Eilat, they systematically visited stores, stealing various items and concealing them. One charge involves the theft of glasses from an Iroca chain store worth 33,632 NIS. Their modus operandi was consistent: one parent would distract staff while the other collected items into a bag.
A third charge details how they used their children to facilitate theft. At a DUTY FREE store in the Ice Mall, while Sivan was at the checkout, Eliran sent one of their children to retrieve perfume from a shelf, which was then hidden in a bag. It was later discovered they had returned to the same store to steal additional perfume worth approximately 8,320 NIS. In another Iroca branch at the 'Mall Hayam', they stole glasses worth 42,779 NIS, alongside thefts from shoe stores totaling over 5,000 NIS.
The parents failed to account for security cameras, which documented their actions and the involvement of their children, aged one, 8, and 9. The total value of stolen goods exceeds 100,000 NIS. Following an extensive investigation, including searches at their hotel room and home in Haifa, the case was transferred to the Eilat police prosecution unit. Attorney Oryan Savisa filed an indictment with a list of 25 witnesses. A request to restrict the couple's movement was submitted to the Magistrate's Court, and the father was remanded in custody until the end of legal proceedings.
