Third man bolted to Israel

Zev Barkan

Eli Cara, left, and Uriel Kelman in the High Court, and Zev Barkan, inset. Main Picture / Brett Phibbs

Fresh details about the Israeli passport case reveal how one of the men masterminded the operation in safety from Australia - then bolted to Tel Aviv when his colleagues were arrested.

The evidence raises questions about the level of co-operation New Zealand sought or achieved from Australia to help round up Zev Barkan while he was still in the region.

In April, after the Weekend Herald broke the story about the case, Australia confirmed that it had been investigating a transtasman spy ring since before the arrests.

But New Zealand and Australia have remained silent about whether Canberra shared its knowledge about the ring or its activities with Wellington.

Barkan, who has not been caught for his involvement in the attempt to illegally assume the identity of a wheelchair-bound New Zealander, spent time in the country plotting with Uriel Kelman and Eli Cara, then left for Sydney, police believe.

But he remained in contact with the pair and kept his New Zealand cellphone active to take calls from Internal Affairs and the travel company he had contacted to arrange a passport.

Senior Government figures believe the men were Israeli agents.

Kelman and Cara were arrested almost a year ago today as they tried to pick up a package they believed contained the passport.

The passport would have enabled Barkan to assume a false New Zealand identity. Foreign Minister Phil Goff speculated to the Herald last year that one possible use of such a passport would be to carry out an assassination.

Authorities believe Barkan may have other identities already. Evidence gathered by the police show Barkan, Cara and Kelman entered New Zealand separately in early March last year before Barkan submitted the false passport application.

Kelman and Barkan then went on a fishing charter.

On March 19, Barkan spoke to Internal Affairs about his application. Later in the day, the department - by this stage suspicious about Barkan - invited him to a meeting to discuss his application.

The next day, Barkan flew to Sydney. When he failed to show up to the meeting, police were called in and set up a sting to catch the perpetrators.

As police used surveillance to follow the package on March 23, it was Barkan operating out of Sydney who took calls and made arrangements for the package to be collected.

During the afternoon, Cara called Barkan in Sydney several times.

On March 24, Cara and Kelman appeared in the Auckland District Court. Barkan, meanwhile, flew to Tel Aviv via Bangkok.

The same day, a New Zealand man who police believe helped the trio, Tony Resnick, also left for Israel, via Hong Kong.

It is understood efforts have been made through Interpol to trace both Resnick, a former Auckland University of Technology lecturer and former member of the Auckland Jewish Council, and Barkan.

THE STORY

So far Suspected Israeli agents Uriel Kelman and Eli Cara were sentenced last July to six months' prison over an attempt to illegally obtain a false New Zealand passport in the name of Zev Barkan.

What's next? The New Zealand Government has demanded an apology and explanation from Israel.