Israel police today smashed a smuggling ring which is credited with having illegally removed $400,000 in American dollars and British gold coinage from the Jewish state, and the Israel Foreign Ministry–for the first time in its two-and-half-year history–has asked for the removal of a consular employee who abused his diplomatic immunity.
In a raid which culminated an investigation rivalling a motion picture scenario, the Israel police rounded up one consular employee, a blond described as beautiful, a number of Arab women and several pious, bearded Jews. The smuggling ring, for which the blond and the Arab women are believed to have acted as go-betweens, operated out of Bet Safafa, a village just outside of Israel which is controlled in equal parts by Israel and Jordan. The ring smuggled a variety of goods, as well as currency, from Israel to Jordan and vice versa.
The consular employee whose removal has been demanded is reported to be attached to the Greek consulate. It is reported that a second consular employee-said to be employed in the Italian consulate here–is also involved.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
