KUALA LUMPUR – Israeli national Shalom Avitan, who was arrested here on March 27 with six firearms and about 200 rounds of ammunition, is expected to be charged in court tomorrow.
According to sources, 38-year-old Avitan will be charged under the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 for firearm trafficking.
Meanwhile, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said the suspect would be brought to the Kuala Lumpur sessions court tomorrow to face his charges.
“We’ll extend our remand on other suspects to aid in investigations,” Razarudin was quoted as saying by Buletin TV3 today.
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 at a hotel in Jalan Ampang on March 27.
Foreign media claimed that Avitan was supposedly an associate of the Musli brothers crime family, a notorious Jewish mob syndicate, and was said to have been en route to assassinate the head of a rival gang.
However, Razarudin said on April 2 that probes were still being carried out into Avitan’s claims he had come to Malaysia to assassinate another Israeli named Eran Haya due to family issues.
Razarudin said then there was no confirmation on whether Avitan’s alleged target existed and police were not dismissing the possibility of the Israeli being a spy.
Earlier this week on Monday, an unemployed married couple claimed trial at the Klang sessions court to illegally possessing firearms linked to Avitan’s arrest.
Sharifah Faraha Syed Husin, 41, was accused of illegally possessing a CZ75 P-01 CAL.9 Luger gun while her husband Abdul Azim Mohd Yasin, 43, was accused of being with her, putting him in the circumstances of having knowledge of his wife’s illegal gun possession.
Razarudin previously said Avitan had paid more than RM60,000 to purchase six firearms from the couple, who were believed to have smuggled in the weapons from Thailand. – April 11, 2024