Nine indicted, including senior El Al official, for smuggling cocaine

According to the indictment, "as part of the conspiracy, the defendants acted as a planned operational unit, each with a specific role to ensure that their plans for the import of the drug would be carried out."

By SARA RUBENSTEIN
Updated: JANUARY 7, 2019 19:42
File photo of an EL AL Boeing 777 aircraft at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel July 14, 2015. REUTERS/Nir Elias/File Photo (photo credit: REUTERS/NIR ELIAS)
File photo of an EL AL Boeing 777 aircraft at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel July 14, 2015. REUTERS/Nir Elias/File Photo
(photo credit: REUTERS/NIR ELIAS)
Nine El Al employees, including a senior member of El Al’s security, have been indicted for conspiring to commit a crime and import cocaine into Israel.
According to the indictment filed on Monday by the Tel Aviv Prosecutor’s Office, senior security agent Rami Yogev imported a total of 150 kg. (330 lbs.) of cocaine on 10 different occasions. One of the defendants was also accused of importing illegal weapons.
“As part of the conspiracy, the defendants acted as a planned operational unit, each with a specific role to ensure that their plans for the import of the drug would be carried out,” the indictment stated.
“Yogev, whose job it was to take possession of the suitcase with cocaine at the entrance to the plane, blatantly violated the trust placed in him, and instead of serving as a gatekeeper who ensures the security of visitors to the airport, he used his security clearance to move freely through the airport for the purpose of importing cocaine in Israel.”
Yogev had very high security clearance and in the past worked directly with the country’s top law enforcement and security agencies, including the Shin Bet. Yogev was initially caught by customs agents at Ben-Gurion Airport with drugs in his possession and was interrogated by the police. Subsequently, the suspicion arose that he had headed a smuggling operation while taking advantage of his position and the company’s planes.
His arrest came following an undercover investigation conducted by the police Unit of International Crime Investigations. Police located and raided a shop on Levinsky Street in Tel Aviv that served as a drug warehouse and arrested him there.
Tamara Zieve contributed to this report.