Cops seize guns, bulletproof vests in Jaljulya raid

Raid is part of ongoing operation in the triangle region including 300 police, Border Police officers to fight illegal weapons.

By BEN HARTMAN
Confiscated bulletproof vests and helmets (photo credit: Courtesy: Israel Police)
Confiscated bulletproof vests and helmets
(photo credit: Courtesy: Israel Police)
A small weapons cache was seized in a raid on a house in an Arab-Israeli town on Thursday, Sharon District Police reported.
The raid in Jaljulya, near Rosh Ha’ayin, turned up 30 ceramic bulletproof vests, five combat helmets, two Glock pistols with ammunition, and hundreds of thousands of shekels in cash. Sharon District Police said they also found documents indicating business deals worth millions of shekels.
The police said the raid is part of an ongoing operation being carried out over the past month throughout the triangle region, where around 300 police and border policemen are fighting the illegal possession of firearms, mainly in the Arab sector.
Police are also cooperating in the raids with officials from the National Electric Corporation and the tax authorities.
Police said they are not sure whether or not the weapons and equipment seized in Thursday’s raid were intended for criminal use or to carry out terror attacks, but that they are currently focusing on the criminal angle.
In a picture released by Israel Police, it can clearly be seen that many of the vests and helmets had the words "Press" or "TV" written on them, possibly indicating that the assailants intended to use the equipment to pose as journalists.
Police also also said that the resident of the house was not someone known to be part of a crime family.
Meanwhile, police in Taiba arrested a local man after finding his four uncovered magazines and 660 bullets of various calibers, as well as an IDF smoke grenade. Police said the 52-year-old resident has been taken in for questioning.