Sea mine discovered on Caesarea beach Caesarea beachgoers were prevented from reaching the early summer sand and water this week after police discovered a naval mine that they suspect was carried by currents into the shallow waters near the shore. Police closed off the beach to inspect the mine and after determining it was in fact a real mine, sappers dug a hole in the sand and detonated the mine in a controlled explosion. The beach was expected to be reopened following a search for additional mines.CENTER Police take service taxis off the roadsA special Traffic Police enforcement operation removed 54 service taxis from the roads this week following complaints by drivers, the Local website reported. Eighty-five taxis were stopped and inspected on Route 412 between Rishon Lezion and Rehovot, and police found gross safety violations in 54 of them. Additionally, 20 of the drivers stopped were found to be operating without a “service line” license.License plate leads police to young flasher A 23-year-old Ra’anana man was arrested by police on suspicion of exposing himself to a group of youths in the early morning hours of Friday last week. According to police, the man drove to the Ra’anana street where the youths were gathered, walked toward them and exposed himself. The youths, despite being in a state of shock from the lewd act, managed to write down the license plate number of the man’s car as he drove away, and they reported it to police.Officers located the man’s house by tracing his license plate number, police said. The man was charged in the Kfar Saba Magistrate’s Court, and police were investigating the possibility that he was involved in other similar incidents in recent months.‘At least in prison there’s free food’ Jail is not the worst place in the world, a Tira man told police after being arrested for vandalism in Kfar Saba this week. The 44-year-old was arrested after police received a complaint that somebody was breaking car windows in a parking lot near Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba, the Local website reported. During his interrogation, the suspect told police that in addition to the seven cars he vandalized on the day of his arrest, he had damaged five other cars in the same lot just one day before. Pressed for an explanation, the man told police that, due to his financial situation, he was desperate and wished to be sentenced to prison for the free food he would be provided with.The Kfar Saba Magistrate’s Court extended the suspect’s remand for the duration of the investigation.Police officer allegedly took bribes, sold ammunition A police officer from the Glilot station was arrested this week under suspicion of accepting bribes, passing intelligence information and selling ammunition to local criminals, the Local website reported. The police Internal Affairs Division was expected to file an indictment against the officer in the coming days.According to sources in the division, the officer sold over 80 rounds of pistol and rifle ammunition on several occasions. The officer, a 27-year veteran of the police force, was arrested in Netanya while in possession of allegedly stolen ammunition.SOUTH Eilat woman awarded for immigration workFor nearly a decade Svetlana Kupershmidt has worked to help new immigrants successfully settle into their new lives in Israel’s most southern city. This week, she was recognized and awarded for her outstanding work, devotion and efforts in the Immigrant Absorption Ministry.In a ceremony sponsored by the Trade, Industry and Labor Ministry, the Civil Service Commission, the Manufacturers’ Association and New Histadrut of Local Authorities, Kupershmidt was named outstanding worker of the year. At the ceremony, Eilat Mayor Meir Yitzhak Halevy congratulated the veteran Absorption Ministry employee and thanked her for her work.
Gaza periphery cow wins milk production championshipDespite the hardships faced by Gaza-periphery communities and businesses in recent years, one kibbutz was recognized this week for its record-breaking milk production. The winner, a cow named Sufa from Karmiya, was crowned the country’s champion milk producer for the second consecutive year for yielding 11,000 liters, Ynet reported.The kibbutz’s dairy farm director told Ynet that although cows are known to be affected by stress, such as the Kassam rockets and mortar shells that have plagued the region’s communities for years, the optimism channeled by local farmers prevented the situation from affecting Sufa’s milk production.
Kiryat Gat police make large drug bust on Route 6Border Police forces and Kiryat Gat Police made a significant dent in the supply of drugs making its way to the country’s center when they intercepted a shipment of hashish this week. Acting on intelligence information, police waited for a car traveling north on Route 6 in the South and stopped it at a roadblock. After seizing the vehicle, driven by two Beduin residents of the Negev, police took apart the car and discovered seven hidden kilograms of hashish that had already been separated into small portions for distribution.