Suspected Mossad spy flees, police believe

A suspected Mossad spy, thought to have falsely applied for a passport, has eluded New Zealand police who believe he may have left the country.

Police made a public appeal on national television for Zev William Barkan last month, two days after two Israelis were arrested for allegedly trying to obtain New Zealand passports fraudulently.

Barkan, 37, appeared on the reality program Police Ten 7 last month as being wanted for allegedly obtaining a New Zealand passport fraudulently.

The photo of Barkan used on the program was the one he allegedly submitted for an urgent passport last month in the name of a wheelchair-bound cerebral palsy sufferer, "Mr A", whose name is suppressed.

But the police now believe Barkan has left the country and admit they do not know where to find him.

The case has caused an international furore after reports that Barkan and other alleged accomplices have links with Israel's secret service, Mossad.

Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Jim Sutton raised speculation that that was the case when quoted yesterday as saying it appeared the men were "representatives of the Israeli Government".

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/19/1082357118988.html

NZ better watch out.

Hell the whole pacific rim better watch out.

Remember this little article when it hits the fan there.

someone explain to me what Mossad and NZ have with each other?

V

www.nzherald.co.nz
including this one:

Spying here nothing new
20.04.2004

Being distant from the rest of the world has not stopped New Zealand from being a strand in the web of worldwide espionage.

Two Israeli men appeared in the Auckland District Court last week on passport charges.

It has been reported that the pair and two other men still sought by police are suspected of having links to the Israeli secret service Mossad.

New Zealand is a world away from the Middle East - and most of the world's other hotspots for that matter - but that has not prevented periodic spy scandals.

The best known incident on New Zealand territory was the 1985 sinking by French agents of Greenpeace vessel the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland.

French agents Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieur pleaded guilty to manslaughter in November 1985 and were sentenced to 10 years' jail.

They were transferred to a French military facility on Hao Atoll in July 1986 to complete their sentences, but were back in France in two years.

Most major espionage incidents in New Zealand date from the Cold War and feature a small but steady stream of KGB-connected New Zealanders or expelled Russian diplomats.

In 1980, then Prime Minister Robert Muldoon expelled Soviet Ambassador Vesevelod Sofinsky for allegedly handing over $10,000 to a Socialist Unity Party member.

Seven years later another Russian diplomat, Sergei
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more.....

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=416416&contrassID=1

<snip>

"Israel's embassy in Australia has dispatched a diplomat to New Zealand to deal with the arrests of two Israelis for allegedly trying to obtain a fake New Zealand passport.

Wellington has asked Israel to explain why two of its citizens, reported by a newspaper to be Mossad secret service agents, were trying to procure the forged document, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark confirmed yesterday.

The case has set off alarm bells that Mossad agents may be masquerading as harmless travelers abroad, the New Zealand Herald said. The two Israelis appeared in court in Auckland on Friday. Clark issued a statement saying that, "The government takes seriously any action that challenges the integrity of the New Zealand passport system."

"The people involved in this case are Israeli citizens and the matter has been raised directly with the Israeli government," Clark said. "There will be a strong and public response to this matter once the court action has concluded."

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/418731.html

<snip>

"An Israeli arrested last month on suspicion of trying to obtain fake New Zealand passports entered the country on a Canadian passport, according to allegations made in a New Zealand courtroom that were quoted Thursday in a Canadian newspaper.

New Zealand officials informed state media that they suspect that Uri Kelman, 30, is a Mossad agent. Police presented information in court alleging that Kelman entered New Zealand in 1999 with a Canadian passport, despite Israel's 1997 promise to Canada that passports from that country would not be used in undercover operations.

According to Canada's National Post, Kelman spent eight weeks in New Zealand and then departed for Melbourne, Australia, using a temporary Canadian passport attained during his stay in New Zealand."

<snip>

"In a botched attempt to target top Hamas official Khaled Mashal in Jordan in 1997, Mossad agents were found to have used Canadian passports in undercover operations. After the incident, Israel apologized to Canada and promised not to use Canadian passports again."

http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=6933

Uri Kalman and Eli Kra are charged with attempting to obtain forged New Zealand passports.

<snip>

"Two Israelis arrested in New Zealand on suspicion of being Mossad agents will have to appear again in court in Auckland, according to a report by the New Zealand Herald.

The two, Uri Kalman, 30, and Eli Kra, 50, were detained while trying to get hold of a forged New Zealand passport. They were released on bail, pending another court hearing next month. Judge Judith Potter banned publication of details about the preliminary hearing that she had held.

Another suspect, Ze'ev William Barkan, has left the country. New Zealand police suspect that a fourth man is involved in the affair."