The heroin and money seized
Photo courtesy Galilee Police
3 Israelis, Lebanese citizen indicted over drug deal
Four suspects detained by police on northern border earlier this month while in possession of massive sums of money, 50 kg of heroin in largest drug deal on record in Israel
The Haifa District Prosecution filed an indictment Sunday charging three Israeli Bedouins and a citizen of southern Lebanon
with the attempted smuggling of 50 kg of heroin to Israel
through the northern border, in the largest drug deal ever recorded by the State.
The four were caught red-handed by detectives near the border fence earlier this month, but the Lebanese citizen's attorney is claiming that the indictment against his client constitutes his kidnapping from Lebanese soil.
The Bust
Three arrested in joint IDF, police effort to combat smuggling of drugs, cash, weapons into Israel across Lebanese border
The heroin was confiscated and the suspects apprehended on September 6. The indictment charges a 45-year old man and his 21 and 23-year old nephews, of the Bedouin sector in the south, with possession of over $200,000 in Israeli currency, which they tossed over the fence to the Lebanese citizen waiting on the other side.
The Lebanese citizen then began throwing packages of heroin over the fence to the Israeli side, the indictment states. He had tossed altogether 33 kg of the drug into Israel before detectives from the Narcotics Division of the Galilee Region Police detained the four suspects.
17 additional kg were confiscated from the Lebanese side, and the suspect was also found to be in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The prosecution has also demanded to seize the suspects' vehicles and personal funds, including an additional $646,000 that were discovered at the scene, and $4,000 that were found in a bag held by one of the Israeli suspects.
Attorney Basal Falakh, who represents the Lebanese citizen, told Ynet on Sunday that he plans to appeal the prosecution's decision to place his client on trial in Israel.
"This is a Lebanese citizen who has been kidnapped from Lebanese territory into Israel," he said.
