Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: CEN

Video Credit: CEN

This former Israel army officer known as the Devil of Taganga and wanted by Interpol has been arrested for running a sex tourism racket which used underage girls at a holiday hot spot.

Assi Moosh, known in Colombia as the ‘Devil of Taganga’, has been wanted by Interpol since 2018 and the Spanish Civil Guard have been tracking his movements through different cities on the Iberian peninsula, including Barcelona, Ibiza and finally Lisbon in Portugal, according to reports.

The Israeli set up in Colombia in 2009 where he is suspected of running a human trafficking racket that involved recruiting underage girls for sex tourism.

Pictures Credit: CEN

He reportedly ran a hotel in the port town of Taganga which accepted mainly Israeli visitors and was said to have been the setting for the alleged underage prostitution ring.

At the time, the Colombian authorities busted a gang called the Benjamin Clan and arrested three Israelis and two Colombian nationals.

Meanwhile, Interpol issued arrest warrants for another 11 Israeli citizens while seizing properties valued at over 16 million EUR.

Reports said that Moosh was expelled from the South American country in 2017 for posting a threat to national security, however fresh investigations suggest he is linked to a criminal organisation involved in drug trafficking and money laundering.

Thanks to information supplied by the Colombian authorities, the Spanish Civil Guard believed that Moosh was attempting to set up a similar organisation in Spain and Portugal which has since been dismantled, according to local media.

Moosh was reportedly arrested in Portugal with his girlfriend while in the process of moving location again and was allegedly found carrying fake Israeli paperwork.

The investigation is ongoing.