ERAN Haya, the individual purportedly targeted for assassination by an Israeli man apprehended in Kuala Lumpur with a cache of weapons, is currently in police custody, reported the New Sunday Times today. 

Sources revealed to the newspaper that Haya, a 40-year-old individual of Turkish and American descent who also holds a Polish passport, was among those detained during police operations in Malaysia and Johor on April 4 and 5.

The Israeli national, Shalom Avitan, 36, who entered Malaysia using a French passport, was apprehended at his hotel room on Jalan Ampang on March 27, where authorities discovered six handguns and 200 rounds of ammunition, purportedly acquired in Malaysia.

In police interrogations, Avitan confessed his intention to eliminate a compatriot allegedly embroiled in a familial dispute. This intended target was then revealed as Haya in Israeli newspapers.

Yesterday, Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain was reported as saying that eight individuals, including three foreigners, were detained to aid in the investigation. 

The detained foreigners included two Turkish nationals and a Georgian man, aged between 29 and 60. 

One of the Turkish nationals was identified as Haya, who possessed both Polish and American passports.

Razarudin noted that two Malaysian men apprehended in Johor were suspected of facilitating the procurement of firearms for Avitan. 

The total number of individuals arrested in connection with the case rose to 16 with the recent detentions, including a local couple who are said to have procured the weapons for Avitan and his driver. – April 7, 2024.