Israel's Police thwarted a cigarette smuggling operation, worth approximately NIS 7 million, off the coast of Ashdod on Sunday, police confirmed in a joint statement with Israel's Tax Authority.
In coordination with the Ashdod Customs Special Patrol Unit, Maritime Police found that smugglers, in cooperation with merchant ships, loaded 4,000 cartons of cigarettes worth an estimated NIS 2 million onto a speedboat to smuggle into the country.
The captain and first officer, both Azerbaijan nationals, were detained and taken for questioning by Ashdod customs.
As police approached the smugglers, they threw the boxes overboard in an attempt to get rid of any evidence and evade arrest. Police recovered the abandoned goods.
Police then located and seized the suspected ship that had supplied the smugglers with goods. Additional cigarette goods were recovered, bringing the total estimated value to NIS 7 million.
Investigation is still ongoing
The Israel Police and the Israel Tax Authority confirmed the investigation is ongoing.
Some NIS 20 million in smuggled cigarettes were confiscated in the West Bank last month. Israeli law enforcement officials confiscated approximately NIS 20 million worth of cigarettes smuggled into the West Bank through the port of Ashdod.
The investigation into the smuggling began after customs officials were alerted to two containers at the port whose customs declarations appeared to be false, claiming they contained "household goods."
Maritime Police and customs agents then launched an undercover operation, closely following the containers as they were loaded onto trucks and began traveling toward the West Bank. After some time, the officers pulled the trucks over and arrested the drivers, who are East Jerusalem residents.