Following a covert and complex investigation by the Central Unit in the Negev region of the Southern District, a crime syndicate suspected of kidnapping and extorting businessmen in the south was exposed.

Eight suspects were arrested and indictments were filed against them. The investigation reveals that the gang members operated during the month of March, as part of a planned criminal conspiracy, in which women contacted the victims by presenting false pretenses and invited them to meetings, with the aim of bringing them to isolated locations, where the rest of the gang members awaited them for the purpose of kidnapping and extortion by threats. As the investigation moved to the open stage, police forces from the Southern District, led by the Negev District Crime Unit, in cooperation with counter-terrorism fighters from the Southern National Guard of the Border Police, and under the guidance of the intelligence units of the Southern District, acted to arrest the suspects – residents of Bedouin communities, Arad, and Tel Aviv.