Ten young people from Israel, some of them minors, were arrested this week in various European countries after trying to smuggle suitcases containing tens of pounds of winepress

• Photo by Rafael Ben Ari

Ten young Israelis arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle tens of pounds of winepress into their suitcases. The teen, including three minors, was arrested last week in Vienna, Copenhagen and London on suspicion of smuggling a winepress. They are expected to remain in custody for about two weeks until their trial and may be sentenced to a few months in the foreign prison.

For some young people, this is their first trip abroad, and they seem to have been persuaded to move the winepress luggage, which is considered a drug for everything in European countries for payment from operators in Israel.

The Israeli consuls in the countries where the young people were arrested follow the procedures and will assist on the humanitarian level as required. The Foreign Ministry has known more than 90 Israelis arrested under similar circumstances since November 2018, some still in prison, including a young man sentenced to ten years in prison in Turkey.

The Foreign Ministry and the Israelis Abroad Department in the Consular Division are warning about the alarming phenomenon, and warn young people and their families not to be tempted to smuggle the winepress that could end in a long prison term in a foreign country, with many family expenses and mental health difficulties.