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The spy network bust that shocked Israel

University (according to Tin Tuc newspaper) October 25, 2024 08:38

Israel is in shock after a spy network was uncovered and arrested. The suspects included minors.

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Missiles launched from Iran towards the northern border of Israel, October 1

The seven suspects were involved in more than 600 operations while spying for Iran. “Every rocket fired in the last two years from Gaza, Lebanon or Iran has hit locations that they photographed and sent to Iran,” Israeli police said.

Seven Israeli Jews, including two minors aged 16 and 17 and two father and son, have been in custody since September on suspicion of serious espionage for Iran in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars. An indictment was filed on October 21 with a request to extend their detention until the end of the trial. Meanwhile, security agencies are still investigating how the network operated for two years without being detected by the Shin Bet security service, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), police and the Mossad intelligence agency.

On October 25, Israeli prosecutors plan to indict the network in the Haifa District Court for a series of serious security crimes.

The suspects are Aziz Nisanov, Alexander Sadikov, Yigal Nisan, Vyacheslav Gushchin, Yevgeny Yoffe and two minors. All are Israeli Jews who immigrated from Azerbaijan. The five adults in the network did not serve in the IDF and did not work at the security facilities where they were photographed while engaged in espionage. They are residents of the northern Krayot and Haifa regions who obtained citizenship under the Law of Return and through other methods that are still under investigation.

The seven will be charged with aiding the enemy in time of war, a crime punishable by death or life in prison. Police have dismissed claims that the group was part of a Hamas plan to attack border communities on October 7, 2023.

Among the targets the group photographed and sent outside were photos of the Golani training base, where a Hezbollah drone struck and killed four IDF soldiers.

The investigation revealed that the espionage operation, led by two Iranian agents, had lasted for about two years but was uncovered several months ago after a tip-off from the Shin Bet. Israel, concerned that the espionage efforts could harm Israelis, made the information public before the secret investigation was completed. Seven people were arrested on September 19.

“This is one of the most serious cases ever investigated,” said Yaron Binyamin, head of the Lahav 433 Serious Crime Unit. “It seems we have too many of these people in the country and this is very worrying.”

According to details from the investigation, the seven men carried out between 600 and 700 spy missions for Iran over the past two years. They recorded sensitive security facilities, military bases and human targets, including the commander of the Nevatim base and his son.

According to investigators, Iran launched ballistic missiles across Israel during the October 1 attack, targeting the seven men who recorded them, including Nevatim and Ramat David Air Bases and the Mossad headquarters in Glilot. Israel also revealed that after the missile attack, the team was sent by Iran to check the accuracy and damage caused in order to improve in the future.

Police and the Shin Bet are still investigating whether the seven men had access to and surveillance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Caesaria, which was attacked by a Hezbollah drone last weekend.

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Israeli forces near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home after UAV attack

During the investigation, the seven people said they could not resist the payment of hundreds of thousands of USD, transferred in cryptocurrency in an encrypted manner through domestic currency exchange shops.

“We know how this group operates systematically. We have seized dozens of documents listing which facilities to photograph, which facilities to collect information on, and how much money they will receive for each mission. The method of operation is to receive a mission, such as taking a photo, drive to the location, leave the car, stand at a high point, take a photo, and transfer the documents to Iran via encrypted software,” said Yaron Binyamin.

Israel also revealed that the leader of the network had been recruited in Türkiye before and had used Israelis in other recently exposed cases. Unlike the other cases, this was an espionage operation that lasted about two years. According to israelhayom.com, Iran did not work directly with the Israelis and used intermediaries to recruit them. In this case, Iran used a Turkish intermediary named Al Hassan, who had used Israelis in previous short spy missions. According to available information, arrests related to the case have been made recently in Türkiye and Azerbaijan.

Details of the investigation revealed that, at some stage, the seven knew that the material they collected would be passed on to Iran. The seriousness of their actions became clear during the public inquiry and through secret wiretaps of the group. “We understood that they were desperate for missions because they were desperate for money,” Binyamin said. “They were asking each other, ‘When is the next mission?’ Sometimes they did three or four missions in one day.”

“The method is to take on tasks in ascending order. Two years ago, they took on simple tasks and then gradually increased them. This is an exceptional event in every respect. I don’t know of any terrorist group that has been operating systematically for such a long time and carrying out tasks. I don’t know whether to be happy or sad about today, on the one hand I am satisfied, but on the other hand, the fact is that we are living in a very worrying situation,” he added.

Three of the seven were caught red-handed near the home of the commander of the Nevatim base in southern Israel, on a surveillance mission against him and his son. “This was the mission that led to the decision to go public with the investigation because we did not want to risk human lives,” Binyamin said. “They were told what day and what time they would take pictures of the home of the Nevatim base commander. This was supposed to happen when his son was scheduled to leave home.”

According to Mr. Binyamin, unlike other cases, contact with the Iranians in this case was in person, not via social media.

“During the investigation, numerous documents were seized that were collected by members of the network and passed on to Iranian agents, including photographs and videos of various IDF bases across Israel as well as ports and energy infrastructure in Israel. All while Israel was fighting on various fronts. The assessment shows that the activities of the network members caused serious damage to national security,” a senior Shin Bet official said.

“The public investigation has shown the gravity of the events and their scale. This is one of the most serious incidents the State of Israel has ever known. The suspects acted with a clear understanding of their actions and out of greed for money, which caused harm to the State of Israel and its people,” the Israeli police said in a statement.

Iran has not commented on the spy network recently arrested by Israel.

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The spy network bust that shocked Israel