As part of a joint operation by the Lachish Maritime Police and Ashdod Customs, an undercover investigation was conducted regarding the suspicion of smuggling cigarette containers from Turkey, through the Ashdod Port, while falsely declaring the contents of the containers as household goods.
Following suspicions of smuggling of goods that arose at Ashdod Customs upon the arrival of two containers at the Ashdod Port, a report was forwarded to the Lachish Police Commander.
Upon receiving the report, Lachish Maritime Police Detectives and Ashdod Customs investigators acted quickly, launching an undercover operation that included supervision, tracking, and control of the movement of containers.
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Later, trucks arrived that loaded the containers and began traveling toward the Judea and Samaria territories.
Detectives from the Lachish Border Patrol arrested the trucks and the drivers, residents of East Jerusalem, and transferred them, along with the containers, for inspection at Ashdod customs.
An inspection of the containers revealed smuggled cigarettes with an estimated value of approximately 20 million NIS.
The customs agent and the importers were detained for questioning at the Customs Intelligence Unit in Ashdod.
