Crime Boss and Accomplice Charged in Ashdod Delivery Scheme
Translated & summarized from Ynet by baba
Crime boss Eyal Nagar and Maor Azriel have been indicted for allegedly controlling Ashdod's food delivery market through threats and extortion. The indictment details thousands of charges including protection rackets and money laundering, stemming from a scheme that began in 2018. The operation was uncovered by a lengthy undercover police investigation involving agents posing as delivery drivers. Prosecutors are seeking to detain both men until the end of legal proceedings and confiscate their assets.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Crime boss Eyal Nagar and Maor Azriel were indicted for allegedly controlling Ashdod's food delivery market.
- The indictment includes thousands of charges of extortion, protection rackets, and money laundering.
- The scheme involved threats, including a warning about a Scud missile for entering their "children's food."
- A covert police investigation using undercover agents and a dummy company exposed the operation.
- Prosecutors are seeking to detain Nagar and Azriel until the end of legal proceedings.
- Significant financial crimes, including money laundering of millions of shekels, are alleged.
The State Prosecutor's Office has filed indictments against crime organization head Eyal Nagar, 40, and Maor Azriel, 35, for allegedly taking over the food delivery sector in Ashdod through threats and intimidation of business owners and delivery drivers. Nagar faces thousands of charges including extortion, protection rackets, conspiracy, tax offenses, money laundering, and evidence destruction. Azriel is charged with similar offenses, including threats and obtaining property by deception.
The scheme, dubbed "Relay Race" by police, began around 2018 when Azriel founded the company "Mr. Delivery." According to the indictment, Nagar began forcing Azriel to provide free services for himself and his family starting in 2019. Delivery drivers allegedly performed personal errands for Nagar, including withdrawing and transferring money.
In 2023, Nagar proposed Azriel become a partner, using his criminal reputation to collect debts, recruit businesses, and eliminate competitors. Azriel agreed, and the two allegedly worked to shut down WhatsApp groups used by drivers and business owners and to block competitors. The operation was exposed by a covert investigation by the Lachish District Police and the National Border Police from May 2025 to August, which included undercover agents posing as delivery drivers and a dummy company to test "Mr. Delivery's" reaction to new market entrants.
During the investigation, Azriel allegedly threatened undercover agents, warning one that "whoever enters my children's food gets a Scud missile into their home" and another that "whoever harms our territory, believe me, they pay for it in blood." Nagar was also involved in some conversations with undercover agents.
In addition to extortion, the pair are accused of significant financial crimes. Nagar is alleged to have been a hidden owner of "Mr. Delivery" since 2023, failing to report it to tax authorities. Both face tax evasion charges, with Nagar allegedly conducting approximately 1,300 illicit property transactions totaling about 7.7 million shekels. Profits of about 13.2 million shekels from criminal activities were allegedly laundered through Azriel's and the company's accounts, with Azriel then conducting thousands of illicit transactions worth about 27.8 million shekels to conceal the funds' origins. Police arrested Nagar and Azriel, and prosecutors are seeking their detention until the end of proceedings and the confiscation of their assets.
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