Multiple agencies to investigate his stay, travel in India without valid documents
PANAJI
In a tangled web of legal evasions, missing documents and several charges, notorious Israeli national Yaniv Benaim alias Atala has once again been under the scanner of law agencies including the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI-Goa).
Despite his past brush with the law, Atala had been ‘peacefully’ living in Goa without a valid passport or visa for several years. His arrest in a high-stakes drug bust at Siolim by the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) has reignited a multi-agency investigation into how the foreigner managed to live and travel in India with apparent impunity.
“When he was arrested for possessing drugs, he failed to produce any valid travel documents. Instead, he argued that previous bail orders barred him from leaving India… These Court orders were manipulated by the accused to extend his stay in Goa/ India without travel documents,” a senior officer revealed to The Goan on condition of anonymity.
The source added that Atala also produced a stack of Western Union receipts claiming he had been surviving off money sent by his father and sister abroad. “He told us that his family in Israel has been supporting him financially,” the source added.
What further raised alarms is that Atala is suspected to possess at least three different passports, now under scrutiny. “We are working to verify their authenticity and trace their usage across borders,” the officer added, claiming that Atala even managed to check into hotels without filling out the C-form as he possessed an Aadhaar card with a local address.
Goa Police have now sought the assistance of the ACB-CBI Goa and the Uttarakhand police, both of whom have dealt with Atala in prior cases.
After his release in the 2010 Prevention of Corruption Act case wherein Atala was arrested by Goa Police in the police-drugs mafia-politician nexus, he fled to Nepal. There, he was reportedly issued a one-time entry visa by the Israeli Embassy in Kathmandu.
Records further show he was convicted under the Foreigners Act in 2006 in a case registered at Anjuna police station and directed to pay a fine of Rs 5,000. A year later, he was sentenced to six months imprisonment by the local court under the same Act registered by the Crime Branch.
In 2019, Anjuna police arrested him for attempted murder. After spending over a year in custody, he was granted bail by the High Court but tried to flee the country through Uttarakhand. He was arrested again, sentenced to six months and later returned to Goa – facing trial in the attempted murder case.
In the raid at Siolim last weekend, Atala was caught red-handed with 50 grams of cocaine and 110 grams of charas. He was subsequently arrested with ANC SP Tikam Singh Verma and DySP Nerlon Albuquerque monitoring the probe.
During interrogation, he told the ANC that his travel papers were with Uttarakhand police, prompting the ANC to contact its counterparts for further details about the accused.
The ANC has also filed a fresh case against him under the Foreigners Act at Anjuna police station. Atala is likely to be arrested in this case after the ANC custody ends.
Sources also stated that Atala allegedly lived in a rented premises owned by a Bengaluru-based person. This Goa address now reflects in Aadhaar card belonging to the foreigner and reportedly allowed him to check into hotels without filing the mandatory C-form. The ANC is likely to summon the property owner for questioning.
