Bag found on beach
Photo: George Ginsburg
Mystery: Sacks of weed wash up on beach
Three non-waterproofed bags containing nearly hundreds of kilograms of marijuana wash up on two different beaches near Zichron Yaakov; police probe whether drugs were smuggled into Israel or mark attempt by Israeli to dispose of illegal substance
Two bags containing hundreds of kilograms of marijuana were found Wednesday morning at two separate spots on the beach near Zikhron Yaakov.
A third bag washed up to shore by Wednesday afternoon.
Weed mystery (Photo: George Ginsburg)
Police are investigating the possibility that the drugs were being smuggled into Israel or, alternatively, that someone within Israel was attempting to get rid of the illegal substance.
The first bag washed up on the shore by Kibbutz Maagan Michael at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday. The bag, composed of non-water proof jute fabric, contained 130 kg (286 pounds) of marijuana.
Passersby alerted Zichron Yaakov police, and patrol cars delivered the illegal substance to the police station.
Roughly one hour later a second bag, identical to the first and loaded with 130-140 kg of drugs, washed up on Dor Beach.
At this stage police say they have not yet collected sufficient information regarding the source of the marijuana, and they have no suspects in the case.
Zichron Yaakov police Superintendent Avi Danieli launched an investigation into the case, pursuing two possible scenarios. The first is that the drug was being smuggled into Israel, and was likely tossed from a passing ship for local residents to collect.
The second possibility is that the Israeli owner of the illegal drugs was trying to get rid of them, for unknown reasons, and threw them into the water. Police view the second possibility as more credible as the bags containing the drug were not waterproofed and the marijuana had been damaged by the seawater.
