Cocaine for soldiers on northern bases: The new affair shaking the IDF
A joint investigation by the Northern District of the Israel Police and the MPCID led to indictments against a reservist warrant officer who stole an M16 rifle from a base and a civilian who received the weapon. The investigation uncovered a network for trafficking cocaine and hard drugs inside bases, involving an officer with the rank of major.
A joint investigation by the Northern District of the Israel Police and the Northern District of the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division (MPCID) has led to the exposure of a serious case involving the theft of weapons and drug trafficking within IDF bases. Today, Monday, indictments were filed against a reservist warrant officer and a civilian, while indictments against other suspects, including an officer with the rank of major, are expected to be filed later.
The case began on June 20, when a report was received at an MPCID base regarding the theft of an M16 assault rifle from a military base in the north of the country. Through rapid investigative action, a 30-year-old reservist warrant officer, a resident of Tiberias, was arrested that same evening on suspicion of stealing the personal weapon from a soldier who served with him in the unit.
As the investigation expanded and suspicions arose that the rifle had been transferred to criminal elements, the Northern District Police and the MPCID joined forces. Investigators arrested a 30-year-old resident of Kiryat Tivon, who, according to the evidence, received the stolen weapon on the night of the incident.
During the investigation, another serious branch was uncovered: the suspect from Kiryat Tivon had been operating, in recent months, together with a 34-year-old resident of Tiberias, an extensive network for trafficking cocaine and other hard drugs. The investigation revealed that a significant portion of these drugs was supplied directly to soldiers inside IDF bases in the north of the country.
Later in the investigation, the brother of the reservist warrant officer—an officer with the rank of major serving at a military camp in the north—was also questioned under caution on suspicion of obstructing the investigation and conspiracy to commit a crime. The investigation revealed that the officer had supplied the network members, on several occasions, with medical cannabis that he received under a personal license.
Upon completion of the investigation, the Northern District Attorney's Office filed an indictment against the resident of Kiryat Tivon for serious weapons trafficking offenses. Simultaneously, the Military Prosecution filed an indictment against the reservist warrant officer for weapons theft and weapons trafficking.
Regarding drug offenses, the Israel Police prosecution branch in Kiryat Shmona will file an indictment against the suspect from Tiberias (34) for drug trafficking. An indictment against the officer with the rank of major will be filed later.
