Masked Gang Used Fake Orders for Violent Delivery Driver Robberies

An indictment filed in Israel details a robbery scheme where a gang allegedly used fake orders to lure delivery drivers into violent ambushes. Over two months in the cities of Lod and Ramla, four delivery drivers were allegedly pepper-sprayed, beaten with fists and hammers, and robbed of cash and jewelry. The perpetrators also smashed the drivers' vehicles to steal from them.

The alleged scheme involved Gamila Turkman, 25, from Tel Aviv, who would order items from businesses using fake names and addresses. She would then inform accomplices Mohammed Altouri, 19, and Ahmed Musalha, 20, both from Lod, about the delivery details. Altouri and Musalha, who are cousins, would then wait for the driver, often masked and armed, at the designated location.

In one incident on August 9, a driver delivering a dress worth approximately 620 shekels was directed into a building where Altouri and Musalha allegedly attacked him, stole the dress, smashed his car window, and took about 8,100 shekels in cash. In another case on July 28, a driver delivering a gold bracelet worth about 4,600 shekels was also attacked, pepper-sprayed, and threatened with a gun-like object before the robbers fled with the bracelet, which they later sold for a fraction of its value.

Another incident on July 23 involved a delivery of jewelry worth about 2,500 shekels. The driver was pepper-sprayed and beaten, but managed to retain the package. The robbers then smashed his car window and stole 7,176 shekels in cash. The earliest incident described, on June 6, involved jewelry worth about 8,000 shekels. The driver was attacked by four masked individuals, robbed of the jewelry, and the robbers also smashed his taxi windows, stealing an additional 10,000 shekels worth of jewelry and 42 shekels in cash.

Altouri and Musalha were arrested following the August 9 incident. The indictment charges the defendants with armed robbery in a group, aggravated assault, and breaking into a vehicle. Altouri and Musalha also face charges related to altering a vehicle's license plate in one instance.