Last update - 00:00 01/10/2007
Ex-policeman arrested at Ben Gurion Airport with 2.6 kilos of cocaine
By Roni Singer-Heruti, Haaretz Correspondent
The Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court extended on Monday the remand of a former police officer who was apprehended at Ben Gurion International Airport on Sunday carrying 2.6 kilograms of cocaine.
Tel Aviv resident Yoram Tahl, 45, was convicted of manslaughter in 1997.
On Sunday afternoon, Tahl arrived at Ben Gurion International airport on a flight from Argentina. He was arrested by the airport's intelligence unit while waiting to collect his baggage.
The unit searched Tahl's bags and found the illicit drugs hidden inside. Tel Aviv district police investigators were summoned to the airport to take the suspect to the station for questioning.
According to investigator Charlie Harden, Tahl partially confessed to the crimes he was accused of. However, Tahl's lawyer said at his hearing that the suspect had believed he was smuggling diamonds.
Police sources have reported that they expect additional arrests to be made in the case.
Tahl is familiar with police procedure, as he himself was an officer of the law in the southern district up until ten years ago. In 1997 he was dismissed from the police force after he was convicted of killing a man in an unjustified shooting during a police chase. He was sentenced to six months community service following his conviction.
According to the police, Tahl began working at a Tel Aviv casino after he completed serving his sentence.