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Screen capture from video of Katcha, the Israel Tax Authority's champion sniffer dog. (Channel 12)
September 23, 2019, 3:34 am
Israel’s world champion dog has nose for illegal cash
Customs Authority’s canine star Katcha beats 16 other pooches to take home the title of top money sniffer
By Stuart Winer
Travelers seen at the arrival hall of Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, on April 11, 2018. (Moshe Shai/FLASH90)
February 16, 2019, 6:42 pm
Dozens of Ukrainians detained for hours at Ben Gurion Airport
Incident comes a day after Israeli travelers were similarly delayed for hours in Ukraine
By TOI staff
A group of detained Israelis speak with Ukrainian security guards at Kiev Boryspil International Airport on February 2018, 2019. (Screen capture: YouTube)
February 15, 2019, 8:45 pm
Dozens of Israelis briefly detained, refused entry at airport in Ukraine
Foreign Ministry says group released following intervention of embassy in Kiev; MK says detention apparently tit-for-tat after Ukrainians are denied entry to Israel
By TOI staff
Illustrative photo of a dog sniffing luggage (iStock/Vi_L)
March 17, 2018, 6:42 am
At Ben-Gurion, cash-sniffing dog catches diamond merchant’s €200,000 cache
Amid nationwide crackdown on money laundering, individuals can now bring no more than NIS 50,000 cash in their luggage, down from NIS 100,000
By Simona Weinglass
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (third from left) announces a reduction in customs and purchase tax rates for consumers at a press conference in Jerusalem; December 11, 2017 (Finance Ministry spokesperson's office)
December 11, 2017, 2:23 pm
Israel cuts product tariffs in bid to lower cost of living
Finance minister announces the ‘largest tariff cancellation program’ since the 1990s
By Shoshanna Solomon
Illustrative photo of drugs (Orel Cohen /Flash90)
November 21, 2016, 10:03 am
In huge sting, police nab 37 for drug, weapons crimes
Hundreds of officers still searching for suspects throughout the country
By Sue Surkes
Illustrative photo of cocaine and heroin confiscated by Israeli police in 2012. (Israel Police)
August 26, 2016, 10:41 am
Ultra-Orthodox men busted at airport with 7.5 kilos of coke
One suspect tells investigators he was given suitcase in Amsterdam and wasn’t aware of its contents; police hunting larger drug ring
By TOI staff
illustrative: Passengers have their hand luggage screened by security personnel at Ben-Gurion Airport, file photo (Ariel Schalit/AP)
January 20, 2016, 5:22 pm
French teen nabbed at Ben Gurion with half a million euros in suitcase
Youth remanded in custody after customs agents discover money hidden inside a cotton candy machine in luggage
By TOI staff
A Defense Ministry employee discovers bulletproof plating in a shipment of car parts on its way to the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom Crossing on December 29, 2015. (Defense Ministry)
December 30, 2015, 6:30 pm
Israel seizes armor plating being smuggled into Gaza
Border staff find bulletproof sheets of metal hidden in a shipment of car parts at Kerem Shalom crossing
By Judah Ari Gross
Plush dolls of rock-throwing Palestinian rioters confiscated by Israeli customs officials. (Palestinian Media Watch)
December 11, 2015, 6:08 am
PA daily skews the news of seized rock-throwing Palestinian dolls
Palestinian media claims toys were confiscated by Israel simply for sporting headscarves, fails to mention violent angle
By TOI staff
IS rings discovered by customs at Ben Gurion International Airport (Israel Tax Authority)
May 19, 2015, 6:35 pm
Islamist bling seized at airport
Customs authorities find shipment of Islamic State paraphernalia from Turkey bound for Ramallah
By Gedalyah Reback
Efi Dahan (left), director of Israel and Africa region for PayPal; Dr. Amir Etzioni (center), director of community relations and regulations at ISOC; and Dina Be'er (right) chairperson of ISOC (photo credit: Courtesy)
January 2, 2015, 12:43 pm
High prices drive Israelis into eBay’s arms
To combat the cost of living, consumers in droves are buying from overseas sites, according to research by PayPal
By David Shamah
Trucks loaded with aid enter the Gaza Strip from Israel through the Kerem Shalom crossing on October 12, 2014 (photo credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
December 3, 2014, 3:59 pm
UN: Israeli trade controls caused $310m loss for Palestinians
Examining 2011 figures, report calls for radical change to taxation system ‘to ensure Palestinian rights’
By AFP
Customs officials found these stuffed bats in an electronics shipment at Ashdod Port (Photo credit: Courtesy)
March 4, 2014, 6:13 pm
Dumb tourists, smart agents: How Customs nabs smugglers
Undeclared smartphones and drugs aren’t the only illegal things people try to bring into Israel
By David Shamah
Two green and black poison dart frogs after they were confiscated at Ben Gurion airport, April 15, 2013. (photo credit: Israel Nature and Parks Authority/Flash90)
January 23, 2014, 5:35 pm
Tax officials jump on frog smuggler
Passenger on flight from New York caught with 18 South American amphibians hidden in his suitcase
By Stuart Winer
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