Ministry of Agriculture inspectors thwarted an attempt to smuggle about six tons of fish and seafood from Gaza to Israel in the West Bank, and uncovered a signature machine for counterfeiting eggs in the Bethlehem area. According to suspicions, the goods were intended to be marketed in Israel.
The High Holidays are synonymous with the celebration of shopping in markets and supermarket chains, which urges food smugglers from the Palestinian Authority to make a "light profit" at the expense of consumer health. The Enforcement and Investigations Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture is currently operating in an intensified format in order to prevent smuggling of this kind from reaching consumers.
In the first case, inspectors from the Ministry of Agriculture's Central Enforcement and Investigations Unit exposed an attempt to smuggle fish and seafood from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory. It is suspected that the fish transferred to the Gaza Strip originated in Egypt, and the plan was to smuggle them into Israeli territory by transferring the produce from Gaza to Judea and Samaria, from where the trucks were exchanged for trucks with Israeli plates in order to enter Israel "smoothly."
Six tons of fish in the smuggling attempt (illustration), photo: Yehoshua Yosef
The two trucks transporting the merchandise were seized at the Judea and Samaria crossings, where the inspectors uncovered about six tons of chilled fish and seafood that are not under supervision, including locuses, sea mushers, sea bream, shrimp, blue crabs and squid. A preliminary investigation revealed that the produce was destined for restaurants and stores throughout Israel. A legal proceeding has been opened against the drivers and all produce will be transferred for destruction.
In the second case, as part of an activity initiated by Ministry of Agriculture inspectors together with the Etzion Brigade, a Judea and Samaria Border Police force, the Etzion police station, and a forfeiture team from the Judea and Samaria District, they raided an egg warehouse in al-Khader, Bethlehem governorate, which was discovered to be forging and storing Palestinian eggs using a stamping machine located there. The warehouse served as an unauthorized sorting institute that stamps the eggs with the stamps of authorized Israeli marketers.
A machine forging a certificate for eggs was exposed,
In addition, 3,000 egg molds (about 90,000 egg units) stamped with the stamp of an Israeli retailer with current production dates were found. The eggs were intended for marketing into Israel with an immediate health risk to the public. All the eggs were destroyed, and the stamping machine was confiscated. During the activity there were disturbances (including stone throwing and firing fireworks at the forces operating in the field) that were handled by Border Police officers. The owner was not found in the warehouse and the investigation is currently being conducted by the Israel Police in cooperation with Ministry of Agriculture inspectors.
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