Israeli Social media influencer Chen Elkayam was arrested this week at an airport in France on suspicion of trying to smuggle khat into Israel, according to Israeli authorities. The Foreign Ministry is aware of the case, and Israel's embassy in France is handling the situation.
Tomorrow she will be brought to a hearing on the extension of her detention, where it will be decided whether to continue proceedings against her or to deport her to Israel.
Elkayam operates a popular TikTok channel, which is followed by more than 60 thousand users. The videos she regularly uploads have received more than 1.1 million likes.
Similar previous incidents
Four young women in their twenties were arrested in January after they smuggled more than 15 kilograms of cocaine and ketamine worth millions of shekels. About two weeks later, an indictment was filed against them, claiming that one of the defendants contacted another person to import the drugs into Israel. It was also revealed that in order to smuggle them out, one of the accused individuals offered the other three to fly together to import the drugs from Berlin for a payment of NIS 30,000 plus another NIS 3,000 for flight and accommodation expenses.