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| The rotten fish (photo via Channel 2 News) |
A man was arrested and will be charged with smuggling relates charges after he was caught transporting a large amount of rotten fish, according to police reports in Israel.
While Israelis are busy preparing for the upcoming New Year holiday, shopping at their favorite supermarket in order to buy the freshest fish, some people chose to take advantage of the seasonal fish buying spree.
The Border Police said that a bus driver was arrested after he was found transporting a large stash of fish in the luggage compartment, without refrigeration. Police said that the fish was to be sold in stores in Jerusalem.
When the bus was stopped for a routine security check on the Tiberias to Jerusalem highway, Border Police became suspicious of the large cardboard boxes that were stacked in the luggage compartment.
Agriculture Department inspectors were called to the scene, and they found more than 100 pounds of fish that were brought from Lake Kinneret. The fish were already rotten.
The bus driver, a 40-year-old man of Tiberias, was detained for questioning. He admitted to smuggling the fish. Meanwhile, the fish were destroyed. "During the holiday season we are witnessing an increase in smuggling attempts of animal products," Roy Kliger, director of research at the Ministry of Agriculture, said.