A notorious Israeli mob boss was executed in broad daylight as he left a petrol station. Mafia don Yanis Yushvaev, 40, was gunned down in a brazen hit job outside a busy petrol station in Caesarea on Sunday afternoon.
Yushvaev – said by cops to be the head of a "criminal gang involved in blood feuds" – was shot dead as he walked out of a restaurant inside the Paz gas station complex.
Point-blank execution caught on camera
Security footage shows a gunman wearing a hoodie and cap approach him from behind, pull out a handgun and fire into the back of Yushvaev's head at point-blank range. Yushvaev then collapsed onto the floor while the two other men cowered in terror, unaware the gunman was behind them.
Paramedics arrived at 3:51pm and reportedly found Yushvaev unconscious with severe penetrating wounds. He was pronounced dead shortly afterwards despite the best efforts of medics to save his life. Yushvaev had "no pulse and was not breathing, and was suffering from significant injuries," medics said before pronouncing him dead.
Businessman front for organised crime
Yushvaev insisted he was nothing more than a "very-well established" businessman who owns a restaurant. But local authorities identified Yushvaev as the head of an organised crime syndicate linked to the Jewish Caucasus community.
Police intelligence had long tied his organisation to underworld violence, extortion, grenade attacks and arson. However, he repeatedly evaded convictions, helped by a fiercely loyal inner circle that refused to cooperate with investigators.
Bentley complaint and manhunt
He maintained a public image as a legitimate businessman, once complaining in a 2025 interview that police targeted him only because he was successful and drove a Bentley. But he had been arrested numerous times on suspicion of involvement in shootings, grenade attacks and car burnings, while escaping conviction, local media reported. However, he was never charged.
He also recently returned from Russia in February, where he was briefly detained and later released. Cops said the killing was purely criminally motivated, likely linked to violent blood feuds between rival syndicates.
Police Commissioner Danny Levy and district commanders rushed to the scene as officers launched a major manhunt, setting up regional roadblocks and deploying helicopter support. No arrests have been announced.
