Crime boss shot dead in broad daylight at Caesarea gas station
Footage shows gunman opening fire at point-blank range; Or Akiva businessman had repeatedly been arrested over suspected violent crimes, but never convicted
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A man was shot dead at a Caesarea gas station on Sunday afternoon. He was identified as Yanis Yushvaev, who was described in Hebrew media as the head of Israel’s Caucasian Mafia.
Yushvaev, 40, a resident of the central town of Or Akiva, was well known to police and had been repeatedly arrested in recent years on suspicion of violent crimes.
Footage of the shooting showed a man wearing a hoodie and cap approaching a restaurant at the Caesarea Junction gas station. The man met Yushvaev and two other men at the door as they walked out, and passed them by, only to suddenly spin around, draw a handgun, and shoot Yushvaev from behind at point-blank range. He then fled the scene.
Yushvaev was critically wounded and taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police have launched an effort to locate and arrest the killer.
Magen David Adom medics reported from that when they arrived, the victim “had no pulse and was not breathing, and was suffering from significant injuries.”
הנרצח בתחנת הדלק בקיסריה: ראש המאפיה הקווקזית יאניס יושבייב. המשטרה פתחה במצוד אחר החשודים. pic.twitter.com/GhJ23SIXrm
— חדר מלחמה (@waroomisrael) August 23, 2026
Yushvaev had been arrested numerous times on suspicion of involvement in shootings, grenade attacks, and car burnings, though none of the cases resulted in a conviction.
He was most recently detained in February at Ben Gurion Airport after returning from Moscow, but was released within days.
Yushvaev owned restaurants in Or Akiva. In an October 2025 interview with Channel 12, he described himself as “a legitimate businessman” who was “very well-established, and drives a Bentley, and that bothers police.”
Police sources cited in the same report said Yushvaev “almost never talks on the phone” because he knew he was being wiretapped, and commanded the “complete loyalty” of his associates in the Hadera area, who would remain silent in interrogations.
“It’s hard to convict him, and that’s frustrating,” an unnamed senior police officer told Channel 12 at the time.
The Times of Israel Community.