Seasoned Spy Caught in Baalbeck

He is not only one of the most dangerous Israeli spies, but also one of the seasoned Mossad informants. Ali Rafik Yaghi, a former member of the Baalbeck City Council, and a former employee of the Lebanese Ministry of Public Works and Transportation, was arrested on charges of collaborating with Israel.

Yaghi’s staggering arrest has abashed Hizbullah’s command since the collaborator had been working with Mossad for 23 years (i.e. since 1990) during which he went through several rounds of intelligence training making him an old hand at espionage (training courses on how to communicate without being traced, use invisible ink, transmit encrypted messages via radio, and use other advanced communication technologies).

Yaghi is also said to be the highest-paid collaborator, receiving an estimated total amount of 600 000$.

Al Joumhouria daily posted a detailed investigation record with the collaborator, in which he admitted having regularly traveled to Asian and European countries to meet with Israeli officers. The spy’s journey had begun when he met George Anafian, a Persian Jew antique dealer, during a business trip to the U.S. in 1990. Later on, Anafian introduced Yaghi to an Israeli Intelligence officer called Michel residing in Cyprus. Yaghi used to meet Israeli officers in different countries, including Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Thailand. He also went to Tel Aviv and other parts of the Israeli-occupied territory using a forged Palestinian passport.

Furthermore, he admitted delivering information on Hizbullah and Amal movement structures along with the names of a number of their members. In addition to giving information on army structures, he also supplied Mossad with sensitive information about Hezbollah’s communication network.