This morning, I was allowed to report on the longest operation by an undercover agent by the Israel Police in cooperation with the Israel Tax Authority. The operation is now over after the agent, codenamed Jack Sparrow, exposed bribery, tax and money laundering crimes in the port of Ashdod. After a four-and-a-half-year operation by an undercover police agent, dozens of importers, customs agents and a customs inspector were arrested this morning in Israel, Judea and Samaria.
The arrests are the result of a long and complex investigation led by the Lachish Central Division of the Israel Police, the Tel Aviv Customs and VAT Investigation Division and the Ashdod Customs House, accompanied by the Southern District District Attorney’s Office and the Special Cases Legal Unit. At the Israel Tax Office.
After the police agent, acting as a customs officer, gained the trust of importers and customs agents, they began to ask him for help in smuggling goods arriving in containers at Ashdod port. He will supposedly inspect the container and make sure that its contents comply with the customs declaration. The amount of the customs duty would be determined according to the declaration and the inspector’s certificate, for which he was given a bribe of tens or even hundreds of thousands of shekels.
Importers and agents are suspected of bribing additional individuals, including an employee of the Ashdod Customs House and an employee of the Ministry of Transport.
Over the years, the agent has inspected hundreds of containers arriving in Israel in the course of his duties. In dozens of cases, the suspects paid him to pass off tobacco products, luxury brand clothing and shoes, some of which were believed to be counterfeit, and creatively cleaned containers for mannequins. Apparently cheap clothes and car parts that have not been approved by the Ministry of Transport.
The agent also seized illegal goods such as weapons and ammunition cleaned in carpet rolls, small arms parts cleaned in boxes allegedly containing screws, a large amount of Kamagra gel cleaned with pickles in barrels, and gun parts welded to a car. , large quantities of dangerous drugs, tobacco, counterfeit branded goods and highly reliable copies, children’s toys without any standard certification, and many other products were imported into Israel and distributed throughout the country as well as in Judea and Samaria.
After four-and-a-half years of gathering evidence, hundreds of police, Border Patrol agents and the Israeli army raided the homes of dozens of suspects in Israel, Judea and Samaria this morning, arresting the suspects and searching them for documents, money and property. persons suspected of committing economic crimes were seized. The suspects are being interrogated at the offices of the Lachish Central Division of the Israel Police in connection with money laundering, bribery of a public official, smuggling and other crimes. They will be brought to the Magistrate’s Court for hearing.
A statement from the Port of Ashdod said: “The Port of Ashdod Company seeks to clarify that there was no raid on the Port of Ashdod this morning and that none of the company’s employees were arrested. We emphasize unequivocally that no port employees, of course. No senior managers, It does not interfere with the investigation of the Tax Administration and the Israel Police.” Israel Tax Authority sources confirmed that there was no raid on the port of Ashdod and that no senior managers of the port were arrested.
Presumption of innocence: The suspects in this case have not been convicted of any crime and are entitled to the presumption of innocence.
Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – published on September 10, 2024.
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