Indictments were filed Monday against an IDF reservist NCO and a civilian accused of stealing an M16 rifle from an army base in northern Israel and allegedly transferring it to criminals. Separately, prosecutors also filed charges against another Tiberias resident suspected of operating a cocaine and hard-drug trafficking network.
The investigation began on June 20 after military authorities received a report that a weapon had been stolen from an IDF base in northern Israel. Later that evening, a 30-year-old reservist NCO from Tiberias was arrested on suspicion of stealing the rifle from a soldier serving in his unit.
After investigators determined that the weapon had allegedly been transferred to criminals, a joint investigation was launched by the Northern District Major Crimes Unit of the Israel Police and the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division. During the investigation, a 30-year-old resident of Kiryat Tivon was arrested. According to investigators, he received the rifle on the night it was stolen.
Prosecutors charged the Kiryat Tivon resident with weapons trafficking, while the reservist NCO was indicted on charges of theft and weapons trafficking.
According to police, the investigation also uncovered evidence that the Kiryat Tivon suspect and a 34-year-old resident of Tiberias had operated a cocaine and hard-drug distribution network in recent months. Investigators allege that a significant portion of the narcotics was supplied to soldiers on military bases across northern Israel.
Authorities also investigated the brother of the suspect accused of stealing the rifle, an IDF major serving at a military base in northern Israel, on suspicion of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to commit a crime. According to police, investigators found that the officer had on several occasions supplied medical cannabis that had been legally prescribed to him. An indictment against the officer is expected to be filed at a later date.
The Northern District Prosecutor’s Office filed the indictment against the Kiryat Tivon resident, while the Military Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against the reservist NCO. The Kiryat Shmona Prosecution Unit of the Israel Police also filed an indictment against the 34-year-old Tiberias resident on drug trafficking charges.