Maida Vale Crime Boss Fled to Israel After £400k Cash Haul
Eitan Benzur, 65, once based in Maida Vale, London, has been caught after fleeing to Israel. The National Crime Agency (NCA) uncovered over £400,000 in cash stashed at his flat and safety deposit boxes during a drug trafficking and money laundering probe.
Drug Empire Worth Millions Uncovered
Benzur was arrested in February 2014 and released on bail. Officers found a ledger detailing the trafficking of 8.5 tonnes of cannabis, worth more than £9 million. One shipment even linked to Blackpool, where 70 kilos of cannabis were seized back in July 2010. The drugs were believed to have been smuggled from Spain, with Benzur financing the deal and moving laundered cash internationally via unregistered phones.
Accomplice Busted With False Passport and Dirty Cash
The same day Benzur’s flat was raided, officers seized £115,729 in cash from Clare O’Neill’s St John’s Wood address. In February 2015, O’Neill, 46, admitted to two money laundering charges tied to Benzur’s cash and £83,867 unexplained deposits. She also confessed to having a fake passport for Benzur.
Long Flight Ends With Jail Sentence
The NCA revealed Benzur had no regular job or declared income for 15 years before his arrest, yet claimed nearly £128,000 in state benefits. An extradition warrant was issued, and working with Israeli authorities, Benzur was arrested in Tel Aviv in December 2019. He was brought back to the UK in August 2020.
On 18 April 2021, Benzur pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import class B drugs and money laundering at Bristol Crown Court. Yesterday (17 May), he was slapped with a nine-year prison sentence.
NCA Operation Manager Tudor Thomas said: “Benzur was integral to drug dealing worth millions of pounds and the concealment of those illicit profits.
“Cash drives serious and organised crime, and this investigation has taken hundreds of thousands of pounds out of the criminal supply chain.
“Time and again, the NCA’s tenacity and international reach brings fugitives from UK justice to account, no matter how long it takes.”
