The drug shipment, which was estimated to be worth some 100 million NIS, was disguised as a furniture delivery. 3 people were arrested
Police and Tax authority squads seized a container filled with one million ecstasy pills in Haifa's port last month, it was reported last Sunday after a Haifa court lifted a gag order.
(MDMA or Ecstasy (3-4-methylenedioxymethampheta-mine), is a synthetic drug with amphetamine-like and hallucinogenic properties. It is classified as a stimulant) According to police sources it was one of the biggest ecstasy smuggling attempts in the country's history.
Police added that the shipment was estimated to be worth some 100 million New Israel Shekel (about 23 million U.S. dollars). One million ecstasy pills and large quantities of material used to manufacture an additional hundreds of thousands of pills were found in the container at the port of Haifa.
Two months ago, the police received intelligence information that a shipping container filled with drugs was en route from Holland to Haifa's port. Police investigation found out that the drug shipment was disguised as a furniture delivery.
The police seized the drugs upon the delivery's arrival at the port and then tracked down the people who ordered the shipment in Israel. Two Israelis were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the smuggling attempt. Both are believed to be part of an international drug ring operating in Holland, Belgium and France, that allegedly masterminded the importation of the drugs. Another person was arrested in France and will most likely be extradited to Israel. The three detainees are all known criminals who had served jail time in the past.
