Shay Golan, an Israeli businessman who was residing in Mexico, has been missing since Friday, Ynet reported Sunday.

The report says Golan, who went missing in Cancun, was most likely embroiled in a power struggle between groups of Israelis marketing cosmetics in Mexican malls and two of Israel’s most notorious mafias.

One of Golan’s associates told Channel 2 that upon last speaking with Golan he had heard gunshots over the phone, followed by yelling in both Spanish and Hebrew.

Sources involved with the investigation told Ynet that local police were searching for Golan, and that there was currently no evidence suggesting a kidnapping. Mexican police are apparently attempting to track the businessman through his cellular phone.

Israel’s consul in Mexico, Itzik Erez, told Ynet he was following the case. “This is a sensitive issue, and the embassy has no interest in going into detail,” he said.

“We make the utmost effort to assist any Israeli who goes missing, regardless of whether or not he was kidnapped.”

Erez added that as far as he knew, Golan had previously resided in Israel. “He had been living here for a few years, and had connections with consulate-related issues so I knew him,” he said.

(Source: Ynet)