Four Argentine retirees who made their way to the Netherlands and India from South America allegedly served as couriers in an international drug-smuggling ring thought headed by five Israelis.
Although the retirees initially failed to arouse the suspicion of border police at airports around the world, the Argentines and all five of the Israelis have been arrested in recent weeks. Advertisement An undercover operation lasting more than a year conducted by the Israel police and police departments in other countries found the couriers to have been a lot more than innocents abroad. The four were reportedly caught with large quantities of cocaine and Indian hashish. Suspects were identified as Avraham Malachi, 39, of Netanya, whom police identified as the ringleader; Samuel Samuel, 48, originally from Lod and described as the go-between in Holland; Moshe Luver, 67, of Netanya, said to have recruited the Argentinean drug runners; Viteli Hanukyeb, 28, of Netanya, alleged to have organized the network's operations in India; and Asher Zurik, 20, Malachi's brother-in-law and the one responsible for helping the couriers to move around in South America and India. Conducted in coordination with South American and European police, the investigation uncovered remarkable methods used to hide the drugs, such as stashing just under 10 kilograms of cocaine in more than 1,900 buttons - a measure that was of no help to the elderly drug runner arrested last April at the airport in Lima, Peru. In December, police in Amsterdam uncovered 52kg. of Indian cannabis hidden in suitcases. The network allegedly recruited elderly drug runners, hoping their age would deflect suspicion. It was said to have paid three - Argentinean nationals named as Manuel Maria Mellone, 66; Gerardo Federico Harmeye, 68; and Justo Fernando Brito, 49 - € 5,000 for each smuggling run. The Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court extended the custody of the Israeli suspects until February 22.
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