An indictment filed by the Police Internal Investigations Unit to the Jerusalem District Court on Monday reveals a large-scale corruption network at a security checkpoint in a sensitive area.
Three Border Police Officers from the haredi Avnet Company exploited their position to traffic illegal infiltrators through the Ras Biddu Checkpoint in exchange for bribes.
During their service, the officers colluded with Palestinian Arab residents of the villages of Beit Iksa and Biddu, north of Jerusalem, who were unauthorized to enter Israeli territory.
As part of the agreement, the Arabs paid the officers hundreds of shekels for every unauthorized entry. The officers allowed the Arabs to pass through the checkpoint without undergoing a security inspection, even when, at times, there was a suspicion that they were smuggling weapons.
The indictment also states that one of the officers had a personal relationship with a female resident of Beit Iksa, from whom he received personal gifts and even showed his friend a nude photograph that she had sent him. These actions, according to the indictment, constitute a severe breach of trust in the context of his position.
The involvement of the other defendants, residents of Beit Iksa, included using private vehicles and minibuses to transport illegal entrants through the checkpoint, paying police officers through various concealment methods, and supplying goods while bypassing security inspections. The sums paid to the officers amounted to tens of thousands of shekels.
In addition to the bribery charges, some of the defendants purchased weapons and ammunition, entered Israel without a permit, and paid for the transfer of dozens of illegal entrants every month.