Eastern Jerusalem Man Indicted for Smuggling Gold From Dubai

A resident of eastern Jerusalem was indicted on Sunday of trying to smuggle gold into Israel from Dubai.

The indictment, filed in the Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court, accused Raid Shwiki of trying to smuggle nearly five kilos in coins and pure gold through Ben-Gurion Airport.

After landing, Shwiki went through a lane designated for passengers without tax-exempt items. But customs agents stopped him for an individual inspection and found in his belt pouch 500 gold coins and 20 oz. of pure gold. The gold was worth 850,000 shekels ($250,000).

According to the Israel Tax Authority, the tax liability of the smuggled gold was approximately 150,000 shekels ($44,000).