Drug syndicate caught flying cocaine from South Africa to Israel

NICOLA MILTZ

The arrests were made in November and December last year. According to The Times of Israel, the main suspect is Rami Yogev, a high-ranking El Al employee who oversaw co-ordination between the airline and the Shin Bet security service, and is also in charge of the airline’s security abroad.

Yogev was suspected of helping a large-scale drug trafficking network smuggle countless kilograms of cocaine into Israel on El Al planes from Johannesburg.

The investigation into the case began in November, after drugs were found in the luggage of an Israeli citizen arriving on a flight from Johannesburg, according to Israeli media. The suspects allegedly smuggled the drugs, later to be sold in Israel, using couriers who mostly used planes from Johannesburg to Tel Aviv.

The individuals are suspected of bringing drugs into the country on nine occasions via flights from Johannesburg, according to The Times of Israel. Although they were caught with only one haul, police are believed to have photographic and electronic evidence of the other eight operations. The Times of Israel wrote that in the one intercepted haul, police were said to have recovered 20kg of cocaine, with a street value of about NIS 8 million (about R30.1 million).

Testimony gathered by Israeli police suggest that the network had a “drug smuggling route” from Johannesburg to Israel, and managed to smuggle in countless kilograms of cocaine amounting to many millions, according to Ynetnews. Yogev is suspected of assisting the network to bypass airport security checks.

Lieutenant Colonel Katlego Mogale from the South African Police Service (SAPS) Corporate Communications Operational Service Relations told the SA Jewish Report this week that the drugs were believed to be from countries outside South Africa.

“The alleged drugs are not manufactured in South Africa, and could have been imported into the country wherein the suspects were able to courier them to Israel,” she said. “Cocaine is mostly imported from North American countries. Law enforcement in South Africa has discovered the port might be used as in transit route.”

She said OR Tambo was “an international airport which processes travellers in and out of the port of entry within the confines of the law. The investigation seems to have originated in Israel, where the suspects were allegedly arrested with the drugs.”

She said a “multi-disciplinary approach” had been implemented at OR Tambo, and there had been significant breakthroughs in arresting drug mules and traffickers, as well as in making sure that prison sentences were handed down.

A police attorney has dubbed the case “a wide-ranging affair”. Police believe Yogev used his top security clearance and access to El Al planes to facilitate the drug shipments.

A former Shin Bet official, Beno Shalom, has also been implicated in the alleged smuggling. According to Ynet, Yogev, Shalom and two others were arrested after drugs were discovered in the hand luggage of one of the suspects who had just arrived on a flight from Johannesburg.

According to Israeli media, the suspects arrested in relation to the case since December include an Israel Defence Forces employee and several who have been previously linked to drug-related offenses.

One of them has reportedly agreed to co-operate with the prosecution and turn state’s witness. It is understood that 14 suspects have been arrested in total.

Ynet reported that a warehouse was discovered in the centre of Israel, which is alleged to have been used by the smuggling ring to store and manufacture weapons.

In some cases, the drugs were loaded onto the aircraft via the jet bridge connecting the plane to the terminal, with Yogev allegedly ensuring the operation could be carried out without detection via security cameras, according to Ynet.

The members of the network are suspected of being as “organised as a criminal network”, carrying out the scheme on multiple occasions and in a methodical manner.

According to The Times of Israel, the details of the case were first revealed after a Rishon LeZion Magistrate’s Court judge rejected, during a remand hearing, a police request to gag the details of the investigation. At the time, four suspects were ordered to remain in custody.

It is understood that Shalom, the ex-Shin Bet official, previously served as head of security for the prime minister’s office.

Mogale said the security measures around OR Tambo “are and have always been strict”.

“SAPS renders support as far as the protection of passengers at check-in counters and boarding gates. SARS [South African Revenue Services] customs and SAPS are responsible for the checks when there is intelligence that has been gathered relating to a specific flight.

“Law enforcement in cases like this will follow on intelligence gathered to ascertain the origin of the drugs, the modus operandi of the suspects, as well as the connection the suspects have to syndicates.”

El Al responded to questions from the SA Jewish Report with the following statement: “El Al is assisting the legal authorities in their investigation [to] reach the truth, and regardless of the investigation, we emphasise that El Al has never compromised and will never compromise on security matters, and is acting on this matter in accordance with the guidelines set by official security authorities.”