Passport Fraud in Asia: Mossad Agent Linked to Asia Scam
 
by Craig Skehan
July 19, 2004
Sydney Morning Herald

The fugitive Israeli Mossad intelligence agent Zev Barkan has been dealing with Asian criminal gangs to obtain Australian and other passports stolen in Asia, a New Zealand aid worker has said.

Barkan has been named by New Zealand authorities as the kingpin in a passport scam for which two Israelis with Australian links were jailed for six months last week in Auckland.

One of the jailed men, Eli Cara, 50, had his rented home in Turramurra raided by ASIO in March. A short time later, he was arrested in New Zealand.

The New Zealand Government has named Barkan, Cara and the other convicted man, Uriel Kelman, as Mossad agents.
 
Barkan fled New Zealand before police swooped.
 
There are unconfirmed reports that Barkan, allegedly using a fraudulent Canadian passport, has since made visits to North Korea.

The New Zealand aid worker, who has intelligence connections in Asia, said Barkan was also connected to an Israeli security company operating out of Thailand.

"He goes to Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Thailand and deals with gangs who rob tourists of their valuables and passports," the aid worker said.

"Barkan is mostly interested in passports and there have been a number of Australian passports."

Intelligence analysts in New Zealand believe Barkan, a former navy diver in the Israeli Defence Force, was trying to secure a "clean" passport for use in a sensitive Israeli undercover operation in the region, less risky than a forged passport.

The Herald has also been told that Barkan had grown up in Washington as Zev Bruckenstein, where his father was director of religious studies at a synagogue.

 The Palestinian militant group Hamas has praised New Zealand, saying in a statement it "highly appreciated the daring position of the New Zealand Government against the Zionist entity".

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