Police arrest 38 members of Abu Latif crime family that terrorized North for 20 years

Police filed 24 indictments against the Abu Latif crime family members for allegedly using blackmail and extortion to obtain local government contracts.

By YUVAL BARNEA FEBRUARY 26, 2025 18:35

Evidence confiscated by Israel Police as part of the 'Black Billion' raid, February 8, 2023 (photo credit: ISRAEL POLICE)

During an operation involving thousands of police officers, 38 members of the Abu Latif crime family were arrested by the Israel Police, police announced on Wednesday.

Police filed 24 indictments against the family members for allegedly using blackmail and extortion to obtain local government contracts.

Several infamous members of the family were caught in the operation, including family head Suleiman Abu Latif and former chairman of football club Hapoel Ironi Arraba, Nissim Sah, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison for killing a police officer and injuring another in 2021.

The investigation into the family was focused on the extortion and blackmail of local contractors in order to monopolize the market. The family also extorted local businesses for protection money.

Those contractors who failed to cooperate with the organization were harassed and retaliated against until they relented or gave up the contracts.

THE SITE where 5 vehicles were burned last month at the Vered Hagalil Holiday Village lot near Korazim, next to the Sea of Galilee. Police suspect this was a deliberate arson by criminals who extort protection fees from businesses in the North. (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)

Police investigators suspect that the family were able to extort tenders from the Defense Ministry, including multiple sensitive areas of the border.

Police said the goal of the arrests was to halt the group's economic activity, which police estimate reaches hundreds of millions of shekels.

Police seized dozens of luxury vehicles worth millions of shekels from the family members.

The operation was conducted in cooperation with various units of the police and financial authorities, such as Border Police and Unit 433, as well as with the Tax Authority, the Attorney General's Office, and the Money Laundering Authority.

Abu Latif family criminal organization

Police estimate that the Abu Latif family's feuds with other organizations have claimed the lives of over 30 people in the last two years; in the past two years, 473 Arabs have been murdered, according to the Abraham Initiative.

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The Abu Latif family is one of the largest crime families in Israel, operating primarily in the North from their home village of Rama, but are also found throughout the country.

Members of the Rama Local Council, who were also members of the Abu Latif family, were involved in extorting local businesses through the planting of explosives and shootings, leading the Attorney-General’s Office to request their suspension.

In December, a member of the organization was charged with racketeering, having extorted tens of thousands of shekels from small businesses.

The family was involved in the "Black Billion," a tax evasion scheme that hid billions of shekels from the tax authorities.