Four years after fleeing to Morocco, Israeli fugitive arrested at Ben Gurion Airport
Golan Avitan, 54, was arrested in 2019 in a Casablanca synagogue, is suspected of involvement in a 2003 bombing that killed three bystanders
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Golan Avitan, an Israeli fugitive accused in the murder of three people, who escaped house arrest in 2018 and fled to Morocco, was arrested on Wednesday morning upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport.
He will be brought before a Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court judge after an initial interrogation, police said.
Avitan, 54, was allegedly a member of the notorious Abergil crime family. He was indicted along with 17 others in 2015 as part of a multi-year police investigation, dubbed Case 512, that was described as one of the largest underworld busts in Israel’s history.
In October 2018, while under house arrest, Avitan was allowed to go see a dentist and never returned. Police believe he managed to remove his electronic handcuff using a hair dryer.
Ten months later, he was arrested in a Casablanca synagogue by local police during a visit with his children, who had come from Israel to meet with him. The arrest followed a joint operation by the Israel Police, Interpol and Moroccan authorities.
Avitan was taken to a holding facility in Rabat, where he remained incarcerated until his deportation and arrest Wednesday in Israel.
4 שנים אחרי שנסע לרופא שיניים וברח למרוקו: נעצר בנתב"ג גולן אביטן, עבריין מפרשת ארגוני הפשע@liran__levi pic.twitter.com/gBCRrJa63t
— ynet עדכוני (@ynetalerts) August 24, 2022
Avitan is suspected of involvement in a 2003 criminal bombing in Tel Aviv that targeted underworld figure Zeev Rosenstein, a rival of notorious mobster Yitzhak Abergil.
The bombing claimed the lives of three bystanders, Naftali Magad, Rahamim Tzruya and Moshe Mizrahi, and injured several others. Rosenstein survived the attempted assassination.
In the months leading up to Avitan’s escape, the prosecution was attempting to reach plea deals with 17 defendants arrested in Case 512. As part of the deal, Avitan would serve eight years for his alleged role in the bombing.
He was the only one among the defendants to turn down a deal.
The Abergil crime family is considered one of the most organized and ruthless crime organizations to have operated in Israel.
In June, Abergil, 52, was sentenced to 30 years in jail for ordering the bombing in 2003.
The Times of Israel Community.