One of the most wanted criminals in Israel’s recent history has been captured in Mexico after eluding police for 18 years since fleeing during a prison leave, the international police agency Interpol said Tuesday.
Erez Akrishevski, 57, was convicted in 1998 of the attempted murder of a father and son but managed to escape in 2001.
He was eventually arrested in Argentina in 2004 but again was able to flee when he was released on bail.
“He is believed to have travelled throughout the Americas over the next decade, often to Mexico, and was allegedly connected to criminal activity and Israeli organized crime figures,” Interpol, based in the French city of Lyon, said in a statement.
Earlier this year, Israeli and Mexican officials stepped up their efforts with the help of U.S. Marshals, who were able to track Akrishevski to Mexico.
Interpol did not say when or where he was caught, but Mexican press reports said he was detained this month in the state of Quintana Roo, home to the Yucatan resort town of Cancun.
He has been returned to Israel to serve out the remainder of his 18-year sentence, Interpol said.