A Belgian couple is suspected of smuggling thousands of cigarette packs and heat-not-burn (HNB) style tobacco units, used to produce nicotine vapors, worth about NIS 400,000 into the country, with an estimated tax value of about a quarter of a million NIS.
Last week the couple arrived in Israel and were asked to move their luggage through an X-ray machine after they decided to go through the arrival hall for those without anything to declare.
During the X-ray inspection, 868 packets of foreign-made cigarettes and another 1,430 units of HNB tobacco were found.
The narcotics unit at Ben Gurion Airport submitted an arrest request stating that the suspects' suitcases were without identification tags, which are supposed to be attached to the suitcases, allegedly in order to mislead the customs employees. The request also states that the phenomenon of cigarette smuggling has been on the rise in recent years.
The Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court accepted the parties' agreements regarding the conditions of release on bail, including a personal bond in the amount of 50,000 for each of them, a third-party guarantee in the amount of 50,000 NIS, and an immediate deposit of 20,000 NIS for each of the suspects.
After the suspects' lawyer claimed that they were foreign residents who come to visit relatives in Israel between once and twice a month, and also claimed that the woman was pregnant, the couple were released under restrictive conditions and were prohibited from leaving the country until next Sunday.