(February 6, 2026)
The individual identified as the leader of the operation, a 68-year-old executive of an Israeli security firm, described in court the use of advanced monitoring techniques targeting the home of the children‘s father, Stephan Hensel.
According to court testimony, the surveillance extended beyond simple observation. The suspects allegedly installed electronic devices in the vicinity of the property as early as a year before forcibly retrieving the children. The objective of these actions was to gather information pertinent to an ongoing custody dispute between the parents.
The monitoring reportedly included both visual surveillance and attempts to intercept digital communications. The court heard that the suspects sought unauthorized access to the Hensel family‘s home network, aiming to monitor and potentially listen in on electronic traffic within the household. Despite efforts to extract information, including partial decryption of passwords, the surveillance team was unable to fully access the family‘s data.