Five Israelis were arrested recently for possession of cocaine and hashish in separate incidents in India and Sri Lanka, according to a report in Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth.
The incidents include that of a woman who was arrested about four weeks ago as she left a party in southern Sri Lanka with a gram of cocaine, and another in India a week later in which a man was found to be in possession of cocaine and hashish.
According to Israeli sources, the Indian and Sri Lankan police became fed up with drug abuse by tourists and started to crack down harder on offenders.
The arrests are often nightmarish ordeals both for those arrested and for their families in Israel, who are stuck trying to work through the local Indian bureaucracy and police forces.
India and southeast Asia are popular tourist destinations for Israelis leaving their army service, with many spending months traveling across the area.
