Police find baby in locked cage during drug bust in Haifa

Police said Monday that they had rescued a baby discovered locked inside a metal cage during a drug search in an apartment building in the northern city of Haifa.

Detectives were “shocked” to find the 1-year-old boy in the enclosure, with only a pillow and a bottle, police said in a statement. The baby’s five other siblings were also located in the apartment.

The 35-year-old mother was not present when they arrived at the home on Sunday evening, police said.

“She was brought to the scene, then arrested by detectives for false imprisonment, neglect and abuse of a helpless minor,” police added. The whereabouts of the children’s father were not immediately clear.

Municipal welfare officers were dispatched to the home to take care of the child and his siblings, according to the statement.

During the operation, police arrested two men, aged 22 and 27, in a different apartment inside the same building after finding substances suspected to be crystal meth and hashish in commercial quantities.

Police said they would ask the Haifa Magistrate’s Court to extend the custody of the three suspects.