Arms stolen from police facility

Police deputy chief orders probe into Monday night break-in, robbery in North.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
stolen guns (photo credit: Israel Police)
stolen guns
(photo credit: Israel Police)
Police on Tuesday were reeling from an embarrassing break-in targeting a police facility in the North overnight Monday, in which a number of weapons were stolen in recent days by unidentified thieves.
According to Channel 2, the incident was the biggest theft from police since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. A few details of the incident were cleared for publication on Tuesday after an Acre Magistrate's Court partially lifted an encompassing media-ban on the break-in.
Galilee District Police's Central Unit has been tasked with tracking down the culprits, a police spokesman told The Jerusalem Post.
In recent months, the North has suffered from ongoing firearms offenses, and guns have frequently been used to settle disputes among clans and crime organizations in the area.
However, it remains unclear whether the arms were stolen with the intention of selling them on to criminal elements, and no arrests have been made in connection with the theft by Tuesday.
Deputy Israel Police Insp.-Gen. Cmdr. Ilan Franco has ordered a commission of inquiry to be set up to investigate the “factual circumstances surrounding the incident,” police said.
The Israel Police's Security Division has also been ordered to "clarify guidelines" to officers securing police facilities by the Head of Police Operations Branch, Cmdr. Bentzi Sao.
Security around police stations has been stepped up following the theft.
The commission of inquiry will be headed by Dep.-Cmdr. Moti Cohen,Deputy Chief of the Police's Central District, and will be made up ofthe police's Head of Security, Dep.-Cmdr. Yisrael Singer, and a seniorofficer from the Traffic Police.
The commission has been ordered by Franco to submit its initial findings within days.
The investigation into the theft will be overseen by the IsraelPolice's Head of Investigations Branch, Cmdr. Yoav Saglovitch, and theNorthern police District's Deputy Head, Asst.-Cmdr. Zohar Dabir.
JPost.com staff contributed to this report