A restaurant owner from the Golan Heights is expected to be indicted in the coming days on suspicion of stealing an IDF officer’s rifle in an attempt to cover debts, police said.
The indictment is expected to be filed at the Nazareth District Court against the restaurant owner and an employee. They are accused of theft, carrying and transporting a weapon, and illegal possession of a weapon.
Chief Superintendent Hisham Falah, investigations and intelligence officer for the Golan police, told ynet that Military Police reported earlier this month that an IDF officer had eaten at a restaurant in the central Golan Heights and that his personal weapon had been stolen.
Investigators went to the restaurant to search for the weapon, but it was closed. They then went to the restaurant owner’s home, where they found ammunition held illegally but did not locate the M-16 rifle, Falah said.
Police detained the owner, her business partner, a friend of the partner and a restaurant employee. All initially denied involvement and said they had seen nothing unusual.
Investigators later found that the restaurant’s security camera system had no digital video recorder, raising suspicion that evidence had been hidden.
Two days after the arrests, Falah said, the investigation produced a breakthrough when the restaurant owner implicated herself and led police to the stolen rifle, which had been hidden in the trunk of her employee’s car.
Military Police also questioned the officer, who said he had gone with a group of soldiers serving in the Golan Heights to eat at the restaurant. At the end of the meal, he discovered that the rifle, which he had placed on the floor, was missing. He contacted the restaurant, and he and staff members searched for it but did not find it.
“The officer felt uneasy about the situation and could not believe that a restaurant owner in the Golan Heights would steal his weapon,” Falah said. “From our perspective, this is a serious case involving the theft of a military weapon from an army officer for the purpose of arms trafficking, and we will seek severe punishment.”
Attorney Yaron Shomron, who represents the restaurant owner, said his client had fallen into severe debt and faced escalating threats on her life.
“In flawed and mistaken judgment, uncharacteristic of her worldview, she took the weapon,” he said. “Immediately afterward, she took full responsibility for her actions and assisted in returning the weapon to IDF authorities.”
Prosecutors are expected to ask that the suspects remain in custody until the end of legal proceedings.