"In early May, thanks to close cooperation between military investigators and their foreign counterparts, one of the organizers of this criminal enterprise was detained. According to an official statement by Israeli law enforcement agencies, the Israeli national, Avi Yanai, had twice been tried and convicted by a Haifa court," the prosecutor's office said.
Also detained were two nationals from a former Soviet republic, whose names have not been released.
According to reports, the leader of the criminal group was a lieutenant colonel in the Russian Armed Forces, Dmitry Strykanov, who was arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) along with 20 other suspects March 14.
According to investigators, Strykanov was the group's organizer, and was involved in human trafficking and illegal immigration from Southeast Asia and former Soviet republics to Western Europe through Russia, although he has consistently denied the charges.
"The criminal group involved Moldavians and Ukrainians," the FSB said.
It also said that front companies were set up in Russian cities using fictitious employment contracts with Russians in a scam designed to obtain their foreign passports.
They subsequently used the foreign passports to apply for European visas, change the passport data and illegally send people to Western Europe, the FSB said.
Six people, including Strykanov, have already faced charges of human trafficking and organizing a criminal gang.
The members of the group each face up to 25 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
