Heroin bust. Archive photo
Photo: Doron Golan
53 kilograms of heroin seized in Arava
Police report that massive cache of heroin seized could fetch potential NIS 25 million (about $6.2 million) on market. Two suspects arrested after trying to evade police blockade
In a joint effort, police and Border Guard officers arrested Tuesday two residents of the Bedouin Negev villages, aged 40 and 49, when 53 kilograms (about 117 pounds) of heroin smuggled from Jordan were found in their car.
The two suspects were arrested near the town Idan when they tried to evade a police road block. They escaped from the car, but were ultimately caught in a foot chase. The police intend to extend their remand in the Beer Sheba Magistrates' Court.
The police explained that the value of the heroin stands at close to $1.6 million, but that once distributed in the market, the price could spike to four times its original value. As such, the market price that the heroin could fetch is about NIS 25 million (about $6.2 million).
Illicit Activity
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Chief Superintendent Yossi Cohen, commander of the Negev Central Command said to Ynet that the arrest was not coincidental: "This was an action we took against targets known to the police in the drug field. Today, all this work came to fruition in the current operation. We planned an ambush on the estimated smuggling route. In the afternoon hours, we caught sight of smugglers loading their car with drugs."
The police said that the suspects placed the drugs in the back seat of the car, making no special effort to conceal them. Police Commander Kobi Mor, head of the 'Magen' unit, noted that the two suspects are senior police targets who belong to one of the largest drug smuggling networks in Israel. He explained that they smuggle drugs from the al-Azazma tribe in Jordan.
Mor explained that this is the third largest drug seizure made in Israel.
The current operation is part of a wide-scale effort being made against drug smuggling in the area, including a long list of arrests.
