Crime organization head Nidal Abu Latif, 10 others, to be charged with offenses including extortion

Nidal Abu Latif (center), flanked by officers in a video released by Israel Police on January, 5, 2026. (Screen grab)
Nidal Abu Latif (center), flanked by officers in a video released by Israel Police on January, 5, 2026. (Screen grab)

Police say 10 suspects will be charged in connection with the activities of the Abu Latif criminal organization.

Those set to be indicted include the head of the gang, Nidal Abu Latif, and ten other individuals including senior members of the organization, an accountant, a lawyer, and a former deputy mayor.

Allegations against the suspects include extortion by threats, conspiracy to commit a crime, extortion by force, obstruction of justice, fraud, money laundering, tax and customs fraud.

The suspects were arrested in a raid last December as the result of a year-long operation in which an undercover agent forged relations with senior members of the Abu Latif and Hariri crime families, two of the biggest criminal organizations in Israel.

Police say the operation took place after an individual who turned state’s witness revealed offenses worth millions of shekels that had been carried out over a period of five years.

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