An Israeli sting operation involving hundreds of officers from the Lahav 433 crime unit ended Monday with 37 arrests, Israel Police announced.
“Operation 565” lasted for months, with undercover officers operating in the weapons trafficking and drug world, purchasing large amounts of drugs, arms and ammunition.
Arrests were made in Tel Aviv, Yafo (Jaffa), Netanya, Ramle, Acco (Akko), Pardes Hanna, Sakhnin and the southern Israeli Bedouin town of Lakiya.
During the raid on Monday, police seized nine weapons, 700 grams of cocaine and three kilograms of marijuana, police said.
The names of the officers involved in the bust were concealed under a gag order.
Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, an elderly man in a moshav was arrested after police found more than 100 kilograms of marijuana in his home and growing on his property.
The unidentified man, age 69, lives on a moshav near Jerusalem, and according to Israel Police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld, cultivated for sale more than 500 marijuana plants on his roof and yard.
“Police received intelligence and tracked the individual for several weeks, and when there was concrete evidence, we arrested the suspect. Altogether, we’re talking about a street value of NIS 3 million, which is obviously significant,” Rosenfeld said.
The suspect has been remanded into custody for five days by a Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court. It’s not clear whether the man’s family is involved, and the investigation is continuing, according to police.