KUALA LUMPUR – Another four individuals have been arrested in Johor in connection with the Israeli national, who was taken into police custody last Wednesday.
Top cop Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said the three men and one woman were arrested in Skudai and Gelang Patah to aid in the ongoing investigation.
He added that the four played a role in helping the 38-year-old Israeli man smuggle six firearms into Malaysia.
“Further investigations are being conducted against the four individuals,” he said in a statement today.
So far, a total of seven people have been arrested in connection with the case.
Previously, Razarudin said the 38-year-old Shalom Avitan allegedly procured six firearms from a local husband and wife priced at about RM10,000 each.
He added that the local duo, who have since been remanded by police, are believed to have smuggled in the firearms from Thailand – the country Avitan had visited before he entered Malaysia on March 12.
It was previously reported that Avitan had been found with six guns, including a Glock, Smith & Wesson, Sig Sauer and Stoeger, as well as hundreds of bullets when he was arrested on March 27.
Meanwhile, Razarudin confirmed that the remand order on the Israeli man will end on April 7 while the local couple will be remanded until April 5.
Previously, foreign media reported that Avitan is supposedly an associate of the Musli brothers crime family, a notorious Jewish mob syndicate, and is said to have been en route to assassinate the head of a rival gang.
Earlier, Razarudin said Avitan did not want to reveal his true job, causing police to not rule out the possibility of the man being linked to Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. – April 4, 2024