The IDF Military Police Investigations Department and the Northern District Police announced on Monday that they submitted an indictment in a case of weapons theft from an IDF base in northern Israel.
As part of the case, a reserve noncommissioned officer and a civilian were charged with arms trafficking. Additionally, an indictment is expected to be filed against the brother of one of the suspects, a Major in the IDF, who is suspected of other crimes.
The investigation was launched when, on June 20th, a report was received regarding the theft of an M-16 assault rifle from an IDF base in northern Israel. That same evening, a 30-year-old NCO in the reserves from Tiberias was arrested on suspicion that he stole the weapon from a soldier in his unit.
Later, the police's Northern Central Unit and the Military Police Investigations Department's Northern Central Unit launched a joint investigation, during which officers arrested a 30-year-old resident of Kiryat Tiv'on who allegedly received the weapon after it was stolen.
Investigators say that during the investigation, they uncovered a network trafficking cocaine and other hard drugs, run in recent months by the suspect from Kiryat Tiv'on and another suspect, aged 34, from Tiberias. It is suspected that a large amount of the drugs was supplied to soldiers serving on bases in the north.
The investigation also found that the reservist NCO's brother, a major serving at a military base in northern Israel, was questioned on suspicion of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to commit a crime. According to a joint statement by the Israel Police and the IDF, investigators determined that he had, on several occasions, supplied medical cannabis prescribed to him under a legal license to suspects in the case.
At the conclusion of the investigation, the Northern District Attorney's Office filed an indictment against a resident of Kiryat Tiv'on on weapons trafficking charges, while the Military Advocate General's Corps filed an indictment against the reservist NCO for stealing and trafficking the weapons.
In addition, the prosecution branch in Kiryat Shmona is expected to file an indictment against a suspect from Tiberias on drug trafficking charges, and an indictment against the major is expected to be filed at a later stage.