5 Israelis arrested in drug mule case
Suspects allegedly ordered cocaine found in stomach of Peruvian woman who arrived at Ben Gurion Airport. Another Peruvian found dead on same flight, evidently from burst drug pellets
Five Israelis were arrested Saturday on suspicion of ordering a cocaine delivery that was discovered in the stomach of a Peruvian citizen who was apprehended on Friday at the Ben Gurion Airport.
Another Peruvian citizen was found dead on the same flight, evidently killed when drug pellets burst in his stomach. Police are investigating whether the two cases are linked.
- Receive Ynetnews updates
directly to your desktop
Since her arrest on Friday afternoon, the Peruvian woman discharged about half a kilogram (1 lb) of cocaine that was hidden in plastic pellets in her body.
International Crime Investigation Unit detectives, lead by Brigadier-General Haim Ifargan, discovered that a large crime family from central Israel is behind the drug order.
Intelligence information obtained ahead of the flight's arrival showed that the drug mule was to attempt to contact the crime family upon landing in order to transfer the cocaine.
Investigators raided the crime family's residence early on Saturday morning, arresting five people. Police intend to motion the Rishon Letzion Magistrate's Court to extend their remand on Saturday night.
Passengers on the El Al flight that arrived from Brazil on Friday witnessed part of the drama unfolding; some said that the Peruvian man turned to the flight crew saying that he felt ill.
He vomited in the bathroom and was lead by the stewards into the kitchen, where he received first aid from a medic and a doctor who were on the flight. At one point he went into seizure; the crew attempted to revive him but to no avail. He was pronounced dead.
Police later estimated that the man was poisoned, which made them suspect that he might have been smuggling drugs as well.
- Follow Ynetnews on Facebook
