In a joint operation by the General Security Service and Cyber ​​​​Lahav 433 in the Israel Police, Edward Yusupov, 65, a resident of Netivot, was arrested during February after being suspected of committing security offenses involving contact with elements from an enemy country and carrying out missions directed by them, for a fee of tens of thousands of dollars.

The Shin Bet and police investigation revealed that starting last October, Yusupov had been in contact with an element who identified himself to him as an Azerbaijani citizen living in Dubai, and had carried out numerous missions for him, including surveillance and photography missions related to infrastructure and security sites in Israel, including IDF bases, the Haifa port, and the refineries in Haifa and the Nuclear Research Center.

The investigation also reveals that Yusupov rented an apartment in Haifa, overlooking the Haifa Port, at the direction of his Azerbaijani operator. This was with the aim of using it as an apartment for operational needs for his operator and those hostile elements with whom he was in contact.

Yusupov carried out the tasks he received from his operator despite suspecting, already in the early stages of the contact, that he was being operated by elements from a country hostile to Israel. This was done while receiving funds via cryptographic means and using additional means intended to maintain the secrecy of the contact.

*It should be noted that based on the findings of the investigation, and in accordance with similar cases that have been investigated recently, it can be said that Yusupov was operated by Iranian intelligence elements. *

Tomorrow (24/03) the Southern District Attorney's Office is expected to file an indictment against him in court.