‘Fauda’ star takes part in real-life police weapons raid

Life seemed to imitate art overnight Sunday when the star of an Israeli TV series about an undercover security unit participated in a real police raid that nabbed illegal weapons and drugs.

Tsahi Halevi, who plays a character in the hit political thriller “Fauda,” stepped out from in front of the cameras to hit the frontlines in the war on crime as part of a Border Police volunteer unit that joined a raid in the central city of Lod.

Halevi wasn’t there as a one-off encounter — he is a regular volunteer officer with the Border Police.

The Israel Police made the most of the occasion and published a photo taken during the raid of its star officer decked out in combat fatigues and webbing, and armed with a rifle.

Security forces searched a residential compound in the city and uncovered weapons including a Kalashnikov rifle and three magazines as well as 7.62 mm ammunition. Officers also found cocaine and marijuana weighing a total of 60 grams.

Four suspects were arrested, all of them residents of the city in their 20s and 30s.

Weapons uncovered during a raid on a residential complex in the city of Lod, October 2, 2023. (Israel Police)

Halevi, 48, is a singer and actor from Petah Tikva best known for his work on “Fauda,” which follows the adventures of an Israeli undercover unit chasing terrorists in the West Bank and throughout the region. Halevi plays a member of the unit.

The show has captivated viewers by showing the more human aspects of characters often portrayed in black and white, while at the same time keeping them on edge with tense storylines.