Israeli career criminal Ori Levy
2 Israeli felons arrested in Thailand
Israeli career criminals Ori Levy and Shalom Fima arrested by Ko Samui police in Thailand on suspicion of weapons, extortion offenses; Levy was filmed firing 12 rounds from a handgun into the air, at jellyfish on a Ko Samui beach.
The Thai police announced Monday the arrest of several Israeli criminals, wanted in the Southeast Asian country and elsewhere for suspicion of weapons and extortion offenses.
Among those arrested is Haifa career criminal Ori Levy, shown in the video circulated by the Thai police firing 12 rounds from a handgun on a Ko Samui beach.
Footage of the Israelis' antics at the beach
Levy resides in Thailand and is considered a crony of crime family head Yaniv (Nivi) Zaguri, who had been extradited to Israel mere months ago and charged with masterminding the hit on state's witness Tal Kurkus as well as ordering a similar hit on prosecution witness Elisha Sabah.
The two Israelis in court
Another Israeli detained is Shalom Fima, also known as "Iko." According to deputy commander of the Ko Samui tourist police force, Fima was previously wanted by Israel for threats and managed a travel agency named Iko Tours.
Fima has been residing in Thailand for 17 years, but his permit to stay in the kingdom has now been rescinded, as per local reports.
Levy and Fima were present at the Ko Samui press conference, both in handcuffs, flanked by police officers. The former claimed in his defense that the gun fired was a BB gun, but police rejected his claim, saying it was a real weapon.
Local police further maintained that Levy was filmed firing both a jellyfish and into the air. The Thai police also claimed the two Israelis were wanted for extorting money under duress from a third Israeli in Ko Samui.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem confirmed that the two had been arrested, but provided no further comment.
