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| The stash of army knives |
A U.S. citizen was arrested and charged with smuggling related charges after being caught smuggling illegal knives and alcohol into Israel, according to police reports.
Israeli authorities said that a man, who recently immigrated to Israel, was arrested this week by customs officials in Haifa after he allegedly tried to smuggle dozens of prohibited knives and bottles of alcohol into Israel from the U.S.
The man, 55, of Ma'alot, who moved to Israel a few months ago, stated on customs forms that his container, which arrived at the Port of Haifa, contained his personal belongings of his former home in the U.S. However, a profiling system used by customs officials flagged the container for special examination by the Drug Unit.
Upon examination, it was found that the container contained more than furniture and other personal items. The container contained many undeclared items, including a safe, bulbs, two old pianos, 33 bottles of alcohol and 82 special army knives of different types including retractable knives and machetes, which are prohibited from being imported into Israel.
The man was called for questioning by customs officials in Haifa. The man blamed the shipment on the carrier company which delivered the container. Authorities confiscated the knives.