Eilat Coin Seizure: State Refuses to Return Valuable Treasure Despite Dropped Charges
An Eilat party led to a drug raid and the seizure of thousands of gold and silver coins. Although money laundering suspicions were dropped, tax authorities refuse to return the valuable treasure.
A friendly gathering at an apartment in Eilat led to a criminal investigation and a legal battle over a valuable treasure. Police raided the location, found drugs and thousands of valuable coins, and suspected money laundering. Now, after the suspicion was dropped, the state still refuses to return the property due to alleged tax offenses.
Police Raid and Discovery of the Treasure
Police raided the apartment of an Eilat resident following information about a party held on the premises. During the search, officers found drugs in quantities suspected to be for non-personal use, alongside 2,250 silver coins and 51 gold coins. The discovery led investigators to suspect that the young man was a major drug dealer who laundered his profits through the expensive property.
During his interrogation, the young man claimed there was no connection between the drugs and the coins. He explained that his family had sold a real estate property and decided to invest the money in this asset, even presenting invoices from a jewelry store in the city. In addition, he voluntarily told investigators about additional coins belonging to the family. The information led authorities to his mother's apartment and to Brinks company safe deposit boxes in Ramat Gan, where an additional 1,250 silver coins and 23 gold coins were seized. In total, 3,500 silver coins and 74 gold coins were confiscated in the affair.
Legal Battle and Tax Authority Refusal
As the investigation progressed, the suspicion of money laundering collapsed. The indictment filed against the young man attributed only drug possession offenses to him, without tax or customs clauses, and the state did not request the forfeiture of the coins. Consequently, the family turned to the Eilat Magistrates' Court, which ordered the return of the property to them.
"The coins were transferred to the center solely for storage purposes. When the family wanted to sell some of the gold, it was returned to Eilat and sold there," argued Adv. Miki Chova, representing the young man.
Despite the court's decision, the Customs Authority refused to return the coins seized in central Israel. The state claimed that the coins were purchased in Eilat and removed from the free trade zone without reporting, which gives rise to suspicion of an offense justifying their continued retention. The appeal filed by the family to the Beersheba District Court was dismissed on the grounds that the seizure of the coins was carried out under a Tax Authority procedure and must be clarified in a separate civil proceeding.
