Alleged Israeli crime kingpin expected to fight extradition

Well-known alleged Israeli crime kingpin Yaniv Ben Simon, arrested in a high-profile international crime swoop in Johannesburg last year together with seven other Israelis, remains in custody awaiting his extradition hearing later this month.

Ben Simon, 47, and the other Israelis were nabbed during a meticulously planned early morning raid on the upmarket Bryanston rented home of Ronan Levy on 17 November 2022.

The pre-dawn raid netted a huge weapons cache, stolen vehicles, drugs, and wads of cash.

The arrests, conducted by a multidisciplinary operation led by Interpol South Africa, organised crime detectives, national crime intelligence, and the Special Task Force, sent shock waves through the country.

Levy, who has an Israeli-sounding name, but reportedly speaks with a South African accent, was recently sentenced to 106 years in prison for his role in the gang’s activities. According to reports, he pleaded guilty in the Randburg Magistrates Court to 11 charges relating to breaches of the Firearms Control Act; drug trafficking, as well as the means to produce drugs; the illegal possession of jammers – antenna used to interfere with radio noise or signals; and violation of the Immigration Act.

It’s believed that Levy will spend a minimum of 25 years in jail. The Gauteng spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, Phindi Mjonondwane, said Levy had received the sentence after entering a plea bargain with the state.

It was at his home that police and law enforcement officers found, among other things, 3kg of cocaine, ecstasy, a scale, and other equipment for manufacturing drugs.

According to media reports, about R2.6 million (which included $46 000); a number of firearms; a converted truck with a shooting port, which is believed to function as a sniper van; and several other vehicles, some stolen, were found at the scene.

Police were able to charge Levy, who rented the Bryanston home, because many of the weapons in the house had been adapted for a left-handed shooter, and he was the only left-handed person among the eight arrested, according to reports.

Six of those arrested alongside Levy and Ben Simon have been sent home after charges against them were withdrawn after no local crimes could be linked directly to them.

They are Lior Yihia, Moshe Hosana, Ofir Gurman, Sharok Medhipour, Amir Sanker, and Irmiya Meshel. They were deported to Tel Aviv on an El Al Flight in July, and may not return to South Africa for five years.

According to City Press, they were declared undesirable immigrants in the verdict, and, after the hearing, police escorted them to OR Tambo International Airport.

It’s understood that Medhipour, an elderly Israeli, had never met his co-accused before the raid and had been in the country for only a few days before the dramatic arrests. He was due to fly back home the next day.

It’s believed he had been in South Africa looking for work opportunities and chose to stay at the Bryanston residence, which was also run as a low-key bed-and-breakfast establishment. It’s understood that the home catered for visitors wishing to have kosher food and participate in a minyan for morning and evening prayers.

Ben Simon, one of Israel’s most wanted criminals due to his alleged involvement in murder and attempted murder, will appear later this month at the Randburg Magistrates Court, where he is expected to oppose his extradition to Israel, said Mjonondwane.

His attorney, Ian Levitt, told the SA Jewish Report this week, “My client intends opposing extradition. No further comment.”

The media has been barred from all court proceedings since the high-profile arrests as part of strict security measures due to sensitive information and security around the case.

Ben Simon, who has been on Interpol’s red list since 2005, has reportedly been living in South Africa since 2007. According to media reports, he’s wanted by Israel on a number of charges and on suspicion of being a close associate of jailed Israeli crime boss Yitzhak Abergil, the leader of the so-called Abergil organisation, a crime syndicate.

Abergil, who is linked to an investigation known as Case 512, is serving three life sentences and an additional 30 years in an Israeli jail for the murder of three uninvolved bystanders in a 2003 bombing that was an attempted hit on rivals, part of his role as head of an organised crime group involved in drug trafficking, extortion, and other criminal activities.

Ben Simon was allegedly involved in the attempted hit on rivals of the Abergil syndicate in two separate incidents in 2003 and 2004. The Abergil syndicate has long been considered a central player in Israel’s criminal underworld, according to the Times of Israel.

The exact crimes he is alleged to have committed are unreported. Extradition papers outlining the nature of the offences haven’t been made public.

According to reports though, Ben Simon isn’t your typical mobster. One insider said he didn’t lead a flashy lifestyle or wear fancy clothes, opting to operate quietly under the radar “in plain sight”. Because of this, security insiders say, he was able to remain undetected and evade arrest for so many years.

Mjonondwane said the case against the group of suspects was held in-camera without media or members of the public allowed in. Ben Simon is due to appear in court on 24 August.