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Photo: EPA
Illustration
Photo: EPA

Haredi man impersonates soldier brother, caught with drugs

Police arrest young ultra-Orthodox man after 9 bags of marijuana were found in his car; he identified himself, convincingly, as an IDF commando soldier; only after few hours did it become clear he was impersonating his brother, an IDF soldier.

A 20-years-old ultra-Orthodox man from Jerusalem was arrested early Wednesday morning after police officers found nine bags of marijuana and a large sum of money in his car.

 

 

He told police he was an IDF soldier serving in a commando unit and was forced to sleep in his car after being thrown out of his Meah Shearim home by his parents because of his decision to serve in the IDF and become secular.

 

The suspect passed himself off as his brother, who is a soldier, by presenting the police with his brother's driver's license and reciting the brother's ID number.

  

Illustration (Photo: EPA)
Illustration (Photo: EPA)

 

He further claimed the drugs did not belong to him, but rather to his brother, although he admitted to occasional use due to domestic and personal issues he was suffering from since enlisting.

 

He was detained for questioning by the Military Police, where investigators began to doubt his claims the vehicle he was in belonged to his friend and suspect the vehicle was in fact stolen.

 

After a few hours of questioning by both the Jerusalem Police and the Military Police, the suspect was found to be lying about being a soldier. He was, rather, a civilian impersonating his brother, who is serving as a combat support soldier in an IDF commando brigade.

 

Military Police (Photo: Amit Shabi)
Military Police (Photo: Amit Shabi)

 

The brother is currently on leave and is not suspected of wrongdoing, but police are investigating how his ID came to be in the suspect's possession.

 

As with any arrest, his identity was supposedly checked by the arresting officers who confiscated his phone and personal items. When he was brought before a judge, he was not carrying any form of identification as the court assumed his identity had already been confirmed earlier during the arrest.

  

The Jerusalem Police took custody over the suspect, and he is expected to face charges of impersonation. His drug test also came back positive.

  

During a hearing Thursday afternoon, the suspect's remand was extended until Monday, and he received a court-appointed attorney with whom he spoke broken Hebrew as his main language is Yiddish.

 


פרסום ראשון: 02.02.18, 15:17
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