Retired Israeli army colonel arrested in Moscow

28 Aug, 2007 11:38 / Updated 17 years ago

An Israeli citizen wanted on terror charges has been arrested at Moscow's Domodedovo airport. Russian police and Interpol say they detained the 45-year-old retired army colonel as he tried to board a flight from Moscow to Tel Aviv.

He was sentenced in abstentia by a Columbian court to 10 years in prison in 1989 for alleged involvement in drug cartels and has been on the run ever since. He is reported to have been using a false passport. “He was a representative of a big Israeli company and travelled a lot. It was possible because in 2006 he made changes to his passport: he changed his year of birth and shortened his second name. Taking into consideration that he has been wanted since 1989, the operation has been a great success,” stated Innokenty Nefyodov, from the press-center of the Russian Interior Ministry.