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"contents": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Court proceedings against an alleged top Israeli crime figure and seven of his co-accused are being held privately, apparently due to sensitive information and security around the high-profile case.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yaniv Yossi Ben Simon and the seven other men appeared in the Randburg Magistrates’ Court in Johannesburg on Monday. Simon is wanted by Israel on suspicion of being a close associate of Israeli Itzhak Abergil, leader of the so-called Abergil Organisation, a crime syndicate.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Private proceedings</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane on Monday told </span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick</span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the case against the group of suspects was being held in-camera — without the media or members of the public allowed in.</span>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1471287\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/caryn-israeli-court4.jpg\" alt=\"israeli crime court\" width=\"720\" height=\"433\" /> A heavy police presence on Friday, 18 November 2022 at the Randburg Magistrates’ Court as Israeli fugitive Yaniv Yossi Ben Simon appeared with seven others. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)</p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The in-camera situation meant the media was barred from filming court proceedings. Mjonondwane said it had been decided to hold proceedings in-camera because of security issues.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The case against the eight accused was postponed to 28 November.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is understood Simon will be back in court on Thursday as he is facing extradition proceedings.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Drugs, drones and weapons</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the police operation, a substance thought to be cocaine, firearms, drones fitted with cameras and motorbikes were among the items seized. A bakkie with an inbuilt soundproofed compartment was also discovered.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sources in policing circles said the items seized pointed towards a syndicate that was possibly carrying out hits.</span>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick</span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> reported that </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">last week’s arrests, as well as a separate case involving </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-11-17-cops-swoop-on-most-wanted-israeli-gang-boss-in-joburg/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">another Israeli suspect with links to South Africa</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, pointed to organised crime extending far beyond the borders of Israel.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">National police spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe, without naming Simon, said last week that the accused was wanted in Israel and was “attached to a criminal organisation [there] called the ‘Abergil Organisation’.”</span>\r\n\r\n<b>Visit </b><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=in_article_link&utm_campaign=homepage\"><b><i>Daily Maverick’s</i></b><b> home page</b></a><b> for more news, analysis and investigations</b>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“According to Israeli authorities,” Mathe had said, “the suspect is part of a notorious gang dealing in drug trafficking, extortion and other criminal activities.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simon also faces attempted murder charges relating to two bomb blasts carried out in Israel in 2003 and 2004.</span>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1471285\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/caryn-israeli-court2.jpg\" alt=\"israeli court police\" width=\"720\" height=\"404\" /> A police nyala and van leave the Randburg Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 18 November 2022 after the appearance of Israeli fugitive Yaniv Yossi Ben Simon and seven others. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)</p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“This wanted suspect allegedly placed an explosive bomb underneath a vehicle of a man in Israel in two separate incidents… As a result of the first explosion, five people sustained serious injuries but all miraculously survived,” Mathe had said.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“In the second incident, the suspect also attempted to do the same with the same victim, where he placed a bomb on top of a vehicle. In this incident, three people sustained serious injuries.”</span>\r\n<h4><b>FBI focus</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last week, </span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick</span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> reported that the Abergil Organisation was previously a focus of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). A 2012 FBI statement says Itzhak Abergil “was the leader of the Abergil crime family and used the power and influence of the Abergil family to conduct </span><a href=\"https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/losangeles/press-releases/2012/israeli-organized-crime-figure-pleads-guilty-in-u.s.-to-narcotics-and-racketeering-offenses-including-murder\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">criminal activities in Israel and around the world</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">”.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is believed that Simon was Abergil’s second-in-command. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the FBI, Abergil was extradited to Israel in 2011 and again in 2012 for “charges including </span><a href=\"https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/losangeles/press-releases/2012/israeli-organized-crime-figure-pleads-guilty-in-u.s.-to-narcotics-and-racketeering-offenses-including-murder\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">racketeering, conspiracy to commit extortion and murder, and conspiracy to import ecstasy</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> into the United States”.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those charges date back to 2008. </span><b>DM</b>",
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"description": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Court proceedings against an alleged top Israeli crime figure and seven of his co-accused are being held privately, apparently due to sensitive information and security around the high-profile case.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yaniv Yossi Ben Simon and the seven other men appeared in the Randburg Magistrates’ Court in Johannesburg on Monday. Simon is wanted by Israel on suspicion of being a close associate of Israeli Itzhak Abergil, leader of the so-called Abergil Organisation, a crime syndicate.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Private proceedings</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane on Monday told </span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick</span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the case against the group of suspects was being held in-camera — without the media or members of the public allowed in.</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1471287\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"720\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-1471287\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/caryn-israeli-court4.jpg\" alt=\"israeli crime court\" width=\"720\" height=\"433\" /> A heavy police presence on Friday, 18 November 2022 at the Randburg Magistrates’ Court as Israeli fugitive Yaniv Yossi Ben Simon appeared with seven others. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The in-camera situation meant the media was barred from filming court proceedings. Mjonondwane said it had been decided to hold proceedings in-camera because of security issues.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The case against the eight accused was postponed to 28 November.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is understood Simon will be back in court on Thursday as he is facing extradition proceedings.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Drugs, drones and weapons</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the police operation, a substance thought to be cocaine, firearms, drones fitted with cameras and motorbikes were among the items seized. A bakkie with an inbuilt soundproofed compartment was also discovered.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sources in policing circles said the items seized pointed towards a syndicate that was possibly carrying out hits.</span>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick</span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> reported that </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">last week’s arrests, as well as a separate case involving </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-11-17-cops-swoop-on-most-wanted-israeli-gang-boss-in-joburg/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">another Israeli suspect with links to South Africa</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, pointed to organised crime extending far beyond the borders of Israel.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">National police spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe, without naming Simon, said last week that the accused was wanted in Israel and was “attached to a criminal organisation [there] called the ‘Abergil Organisation’.”</span>\r\n\r\n<b>Visit </b><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=in_article_link&utm_campaign=homepage\"><b><i>Daily Maverick’s</i></b><b> home page</b></a><b> for more news, analysis and investigations</b>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“According to Israeli authorities,” Mathe had said, “the suspect is part of a notorious gang dealing in drug trafficking, extortion and other criminal activities.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simon also faces attempted murder charges relating to two bomb blasts carried out in Israel in 2003 and 2004.</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1471285\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"720\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-1471285\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/caryn-israeli-court2.jpg\" alt=\"israeli court police\" width=\"720\" height=\"404\" /> A police nyala and van leave the Randburg Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 18 November 2022 after the appearance of Israeli fugitive Yaniv Yossi Ben Simon and seven others. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“This wanted suspect allegedly placed an explosive bomb underneath a vehicle of a man in Israel in two separate incidents… As a result of the first explosion, five people sustained serious injuries but all miraculously survived,” Mathe had said.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“In the second incident, the suspect also attempted to do the same with the same victim, where he placed a bomb on top of a vehicle. In this incident, three people sustained serious injuries.”</span>\r\n<h4><b>FBI focus</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last week, </span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick</span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> reported that the Abergil Organisation was previously a focus of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). A 2012 FBI statement says Itzhak Abergil “was the leader of the Abergil crime family and used the power and influence of the Abergil family to conduct </span><a href=\"https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/losangeles/press-releases/2012/israeli-organized-crime-figure-pleads-guilty-in-u.s.-to-narcotics-and-racketeering-offenses-including-murder\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">criminal activities in Israel and around the world</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">”.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is believed that Simon was Abergil’s second-in-command. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the FBI, Abergil was extradited to Israel in 2011 and again in 2012 for “charges including </span><a href=\"https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/losangeles/press-releases/2012/israeli-organized-crime-figure-pleads-guilty-in-u.s.-to-narcotics-and-racketeering-offenses-including-murder\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">racketeering, conspiracy to commit extortion and murder, and conspiracy to import ecstasy</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> into the United States”.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those charges date back to 2008. </span><b>DM</b>",
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A heavy police presence on Friday, 18 November 2022 at the Randburg Magistrates’ Court as Israeli fugitive Yaniv Yossi Ben Simon appeared with seven others. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)
A police nyala and van leave the Randburg Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 18 November 2022 after the appearance of Israeli fugitive Yaniv Yossi Ben Simon and seven others. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)