Police officer suspected of accepting bribes to close criminal cases

A senior police officer has been arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes in exchange for closing criminal cases, police said Monday.

Several other people have been held in connection with the case, following an undercover investigation.

The police officer and the detained civilians were not identified. Hebrew media reports said the officer was stationed at the Tamra police station in northern Israel and held the rank of sergeant major, while the other detained suspects were the alleged bribe-givers.

The officer is accused of closing dozens of criminal cases in exchange for payments of thousands of shekels from the alleged criminals and their associates, according to the Haaretz daily.

He denied the allegations against him, according to the report, but the Justice Ministry’s Police Internal Investigations Department allegedly has evidence implicating him.

The suspects will be brought to a court in Haifa on Tuesday for a hearing on the extension of their remand.