Israeli police said they have detained an alleged contract killer who was hired by a Russian businessman to kill two people in Israel but, reportedly facing a guilty conscience, admitted his murder plans to the would-be victims.

Police opened an investigation into the case after one of the would-be victims said the alleged contract killer had accosted them on the street and warned them he had been hired to kill them. The 38-year-old suspect reportedly immigrated to Israel last year from Russia, where he had allegedly served in the special forces.

The alleged contract killer told his would-be victims “he regretted the mission,” Israeli police said in a statement on Twitter.

The unnamed Russian businessman allegedly paid the contract hitman a $5,000 advance, with a promise to pay $1 million if he carried out the assassinations. According to the Newsru.co.il website, the would-be killer received another $5,000 with instructions to “immediately carry out the murder.”