Police are on the hunt for Netanya mob boss Charlie Abutbul in connection with
the kidnapping and violent interrogation of a yeshiva student he suspected of
having robbed him and associates.
The Lahav 433 serious crimes division
of the Israel Police has been carrying out an investigation into the
allegations, which were cleared for publication only on
Tuesday.
According to police, after hundreds of thousands of shekels were
stolen from a house in the North that belonged to associates of Abutbul, a
yeshiva student from Jerusalem was lured to the area, where Abutbul’s men forced
him into a car and drove him to an apartment in Netanya.
Police said the
yeshiva student was gagged and tied to a chair while Abutbul and his men beat
him repeatedly over his entire body and threatened to kill him if he didn’t turn
over the money.
The police arrested eight suspects in the case, including
Abutbul’s wife, Sonia. The Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday extended
her remand until Thursday. It also extended the remands of Fadida and Hanania
Gabai until November 4 and those of Waida Ayman and Itzik Gabai until November
6. The remaining three suspects are to have remand hearings on
Wednesday.
All face charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment, extortion
and aggravated assault.
The name of the yeshiva student was not cleared
for publication, nor did police say whether he was involved in the burglary or
why Abutbul let him go.
Abutbul himself remains at large even though he
has been one of the Israel Police’s top targets and under constant surveillance
for years. It is unclear whether he is even in the country.
The acting
head of the Netanya-based Abutbul crime family has repeatedly emerged unscathed
from police cases against him. In July he was arrested in connection with an
attempt on the life of rival mobster Rico Shirazi but was released shortly
afterward.