Israeli citizen murdered in Colombia by local criminals, police suspect
Shushan was shot in the head twice at point-blank range by an unknown assailant who managed to escape before police arrived the scene.
By TOBIAS SIEGALA view from the "Comuna 13" neighborhood in Medellin, September 2, 2015(photo credit: REUTERS/FREDY BUILES/FILE PHOTO)
Idan Shushan, 34, an Israeli citizen who for the past few years has been living in Colombia, was murdered late Thursday night in the city of Medellin, N12 reported.According to the report, Shushan was shot in his head twice at point-blank range by an unknown assailant who managed to escape before police arrived to the scene.The initial investigation is pointing to a premeditated act of revenge carried out by Israeli and Colombian criminals over an alleged "betrayal" by the victim.THE COLOMBIAN authorities have recently launched an international investigation into a joint operation by these criminals, suspected to include the laundering of billions of dollars through smuggling cash and large purchases of digital currency, according to N12.Shushan had apparently connected with Israeli criminals operating in Colombia and began working with them and assisting them with smuggling operations. An Israeli living in Colombia who knew Shushan told N12 that he was probably murdered because he provided information to the Colombian authorities about the operations or criminals he came to know."Idan knew a lot about the money laundering operations by Israeli and Colombian criminals who were working together, and probably gave information to the Colombian police about what he knew in order to avoid being arrested himself," the unnamed Israeli told N12."Idan helped smuggle millions of dollars for a senior Israeli criminal who was later arrested. The information that Shushan had could have helped incriminate him," he added, providing a possible explanation to what led to Shushan's death. THE MURDER victim had lived in Panama for nearly a decade before moving to Colombia, where he probably made his first steps into the criminal world.He was arrested twice while in Panama for smuggling large amounts of cash and served several prison sentences in Panamanian jails.
A Twitter account associated with his name has two posts dating back to 2010 that read: "Panama prison" and "Jail sucks."A few years ago, Shushan moved to Colombia and opened a motel that became popular among Israeli tourists. "Idan was a good guy. He wasn't the criminal type, but he got entangled with criminals who used him as a courier for smuggling millions of dollars from Panama to Colombia and to other countries," a close acquaintance of Shushan told N12. "He would receive a commission of a few thousand dollars every time and used to live in hostels or rented apartments."THE FOREIGN Ministry has issued a statement noting that they are aware of the incident and have contacted the victim's family in Israel in order to assist them with the necessary arrangements for flying his body to Israel for burial, N12 reported. In 2016, Shay Ezran, a 37-year-old Israeli citizen was also shot to death in Medellin while riding a motorcycle. In that case, the killer was never apprehended.
