A Malaysian court on Wednesday sentenced an Israeli man to seven years in prison after he pleaded guilty to carrying six guns and dozens of bullets.
The 39-year-old Shalom Avitan was said to be arrested last March at a hotel in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, and later charged with unauthorised trafficking and possession of firearms, while a married Malaysian couple was charged with supplying him the weapons.
Authorities said Avitan claimed to be in Malaysia to hunt down another Israeli citizen over a family dispute.
It was gathered that the two countries do not have diplomatic relations, and police investigated Avitan motives and the possibility that he was part of an Israeli crime ring or a spy.
Malaysian officials said Avitan arrived from the United Arab Emirates on March 12 last year travelling on a French passport.
They added that he was detained by police at a Kuala Lumpur hotel with the bag of weapons on March 27 and produced an Israeli passport when questioned, they added.
