Favorite destination for Israelis tightens rules: "Four months of detention"

Following several disturbing cases of Israelis arrested on suspicion of smuggling hundreds of kilograms of khat worth hundreds of thousands of euros, law enforcement authorities in Greece have decided to tighten their policy against khat smuggling from Israel.

Sources familiar with the matter report that these smuggling networks include both young and old individuals, some of whom belong to the ultra-Orthodox religious sector, acting as couriers to transport large quantities of khat in suitcases in exchange for significant sums of money.

Greek authorities have implemented a new policy under which suspects are held in detention for long periods until proceedings are completed, including laboratory tests to examine the components of the khat and inquiries into the smuggling of other substances.

"Israelis are arrested immediately and sent to detention for long months," said a source familiar with the details. "Testing the khat in laboratories can take about four months, and until then they remain in detention, without the possibility of release and without an indictment having been filed. The authorities in Greece are being strict on the issue of khat in order to eradicate the phenomenon of smuggling."

Advocate Mordechai Tzivin, an expert in international law, stated that Greece currently employs one of the strictest enforcement policies in the European Union regarding khat smuggling.

"There are countries in Europe that treat khat as a drug for all intents and purposes," explained Tzivin. "In Greece, they are very strict in order to eradicate the phenomenon of smuggling and take a hard line against the smugglers."

As a reminder, Greece is not the only country dealing with this problem. Last month, two young ultra-Orthodox Israeli women from the Sharon region, in their 20s, were arrested immediately upon landing at the international airport in Krakow, Poland, after 100 kilograms of khat were found in their suitcases.