One of Israel’s most dangerous mob figures shot dead near Caesarea
Janis Yushvaev, 40, was gunned down outside a petrol station in a killing recorded by security cameras.
Forty-year-old Janis Yushvaev, described by Israeli authorities as one of the country’s most dangerous criminals, was shot dead while leaving a petrol station near Caesarea, security-camera footage shows.
Footage and the killing
The recorded video shows an assailant climbing a set of stairs near the station entrance just as two men exit. After those two pass, Yushvaev begins to descend the steps. The attacker approaches him from behind and fires a shot to the back of his head; Yushvaev collapses, and the gunman flees on foot.
Yushvaev was married and a father of three. Israeli investigators say he led a criminal organisation linked to Jews from the Caucasus and for years avoided convictions because police were unable to gather enough evidence to tie him to shootings, bomb attacks and car arsons.
The slaying comes amid rising alarm in Israel over brazen attacks by organised-crime groups in public places. In recent weeks branches of the sushi chain Japanika have been targeted in a wave of bombings, shootings and arson attempts.
Police have linked those incidents to an intensified feud between the Mosli and Yarushi criminal families. Authorities recorded 13 attacks in the space of a few days, including a shooting at a restaurant in Herzliya and a suspected planted bomb that sparked a fire at a Netanya branch. The U.S. Embassy in Israel issued a security notice for American citizens that included warnings about organised-crime threats in Tel Aviv, Jaffa and Herzliya.
Israeli police say they are investigating the killing and reviewing the surveillance material.
Photo: press material from the event
