Brazilian police seize hundreds of kilos of cocaine in a drug raid in Sao Paulo on September 23, 2016, in which an Israeli man was arrested. (screen capture: Ynet)
An Israeli and another man were arrested in Sao Paulo, Brazil with 300 kilos of cocaine in their possession and are suspected of being part of an international drug-smuggling network, the Brazilian media reported late Friday.
O Globo newspaper said the arrests were made following cooperation between the Brazil federal police drugs squad and the Israeli consulate in Sao Paulo, Israel’s Ynet news reported.
Another local report said that the arrests were the result of four months of joint work by the Brazilian and Israeli police forces.
According to the Hebrew-language Walla website, the Israeli was detained after trying to smuggle a smaller amount of cocaine into Tel Aviv, and police believe he was trying to see if he could outsmart the authorities.
Hundreds of kilos of cocaine seized by Brazilian police in a drug raid in Sao Paulo on September 23, 2016, in which an Israeli man was arrested. (screen capture: Ynet)
Walla identified the second detainee as a 34-year-old Brazilian who owns the apartment in which the two were arrested. The website also said that the two had more than 500 kilos of cocaine in their possession.
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Neither the Israeli consulate in Sao Paulo nor the embassy in Brasilia would confirm or deny the reports.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem said in response: “We are not commenting at this stage on the matter and we are waiting to receive information from the Brazilian authorities.”
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