Military doctor suspected of using cocaine
Military Police arrest officer serving at combat unit on suspicion of using dangerous drugs; traces of cocaine, grass found in his urine sample. Officer denies allegations
In a hearing held Friday at the Military Court, the doctor denied the allegations against him, but the judge instructed the police to leave him in custody till Monday.
Only last week, the IDF reported with satisfaction of a drop in the number of soldiers using drugs during their military service.
According to data issued by the Military Police, although the number of investigations into drug abuse cases increased by 10 percent in 2006 compared to the previous year, a drop of 20 percent was noted in the number of indictment filed over drug abuse.
But this week the Military Police was forced to deal with an embarrassing affair which involves an IDF officer with the rank of first lieutenant, a trained doctor, who served at a combat engineering battalion, following intelligence information received by the Military Police that the doctor was using dangerous drugs, including cocaine.
Upon the doctor return to Israel from a trip abroad several days ago, investigators arrived at his unit and asked him to take a urine test. The test findings revealed that traces of drugs were found in his blood.
"Traces of cocaine and grass were already identified in the initial test," a military source said.
The test was sent to a laboratory for decisive results. Following the initial findings and the severity of the issue, the officer was arrested and on Friday was brought before a military court for a custody hearing. The Military Police investigators asked the court to extend his remand by six days in order to continue the investigation.
Grave implications
The officer's defense attorneys said during the hearing that the officer had never used drugs, and that if traces of drugs were indeed found in his blood, it was unconscious use. The judge, Lieutenant Colonel Maya Heller, extended the officer's remand by four days.
"The doctor is first of all an IDF officer and he is aware of the grave implications of drug abuse during military service. It is obvious that if this is indeed the situation, he has no place among us and I doubt whether he can continue to serve as a doctor," a military source in the Medical Corps said.
Soldiers convicted of drug abuse are treated severely by the IDF and usually receive prison terms, even if it was a one-time use. If a soldier is convicted, he is forced to live with a criminal record his entire life.
The officer's lawyers, Attorney Erez Melamed and Attorney Yevgeny Yaakobov, told Ynet that their client denied all the allegations against him.
The IDF Spokesperson's Office confirmed the report and said that "once the investigation is completed, its findings will be handed over to the Military Prosecution."
Sources involved in the investigation noted that the Military Police will also look into suspicions that the doctor used drugs in the past, including during last summer's war in Lebanon.
