Soldiers ‘drug lair’ busted
Five Nahal brigade soldiers, working as youth counselors as part of army service, were discovered with mass quantities of drugs and alcohol in apartment provided by IDF
Five soldiers from the Nahal brigade who serve as youth counselors in the south were arrested by the IDF’s criminal investigation unit on suspicion of using drugs in an apartment owned by the army. Chief Education Officer Brig.-Gen. Ilan Harari will receive the report on the case Thursday morning and decide how to deal with the offenders.
The army discovered the soldiers’ offenses when an Education and Youth Corps officer came to inspect the apartment and encountered the difficult scene. The officer passed the information to the criminal investigations division, which raided the soldiers' Kiryat Malachi apartment. The authorities found various illegal materials including drugs, alcoholic beverages and drug paraphernalia. An officer familiar with the affair defined it as an “extremely severe” case.
The soldiers, who were arrested on the spot, completed combat service in Nahal’s 50th battalion and were on the next stage of their service track which requires a period of community service. These particular soldiers were stationed in Kiryat Malachi, where they served as youth counselors. The apartment they lived in was provided by the army. According to suspicions, a female officer from the corps knew about the illegal activity in the apartment but failed to report it to the commander. Disciplinary action is expected against her as well.
Thursday morning a remand hearing will be held for the five soldiers at the military court in Jaffa. The IDF views the use of drugs with great gravity. Such an offense could be registered in the soldiers’ civilian criminal record in addition to the punishment they are expected to get from the army.
At the end of their community service the soldiers were supposed to return to their battalion for another six months of combat service, but the affair will likely disrupt the continuation their military service.
Parallel to the crime unit investigation, an additional inquiry by the education corps will be presented to Brig.-Gen. Harari. The chief education officer will instruct the officers in his command how to deal with the affair to prevent the repetition of such offenses in the future.
“An apartment given to soldiers in the framework of their jobs cannot turn into an alcohol and drug lair,” an army official said. “The fact that these were youth counselors just makes the case more severe.”
An IDF spokesman confirmed the details of the affair. “The soldiers admitted to using marijuana, and the investigation into the case is continuing. The IDF, via the military police, is working tirelessly and with determination to eradicate the problem of drugs,” the spokesman stated.
