Police conducted a large raid in the northern village of Rameh and arrested five
men suspected of involvement in a series of violent crimes and drug and firearm
offenses, Northern District Police said on Tuesday.
Police said the raid
targeted the Abu-Latif family, which has been involved in a feud with the Jizawi
family that has led to a number of violent incidents – including murder – in
recent years.
Over a year ago, Northern District chief Roni Atiya handed
over the investigation to the northern branch of the YAMAR investigative unit,
which ran a year-and-ahalf undercover investigation that led to Tuesday’s
raid.
During the operation, YAMAR detectives backed by officers from the
YASSAM special patrol unit, Border Police, canine units and police sappers
raided a compound run by the Abu-Latif family, during which they arrested a man
they said heads the family’s organized crime operations.
Police also
managed to seize nine cars worth a total of more than NIS 6 million, in addition
to a large amount of cash and drugs, they reported Tuesday.
The five
suspects are aged 27 to 41 and are from Rameh and other nearby
villages.
They face weapon and drug charges and also stand to be charged
with conspiracy, with ties to a number of violent incidents in the North over
the past few years.
All suspects were brought to the Nazareth
Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, where police are expected to argue to keep them
in custody until an indictment is issued.
“The operation this morning is
part of an ongoing investigation, carried out in our unrelenting campaign to
fight violent crime and the use of firearms that have left a number of victims
in their wake,” Atiya said.
“Our goal is to return the sense of personal
security to the residents and to bring those criminals responsible to justice,”
he said.
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