Senior El Al official arrested for allegedly smuggling drugs

The official was named as Rami Yogev, who is the manager of the Development and Resources Department at El Al, and he is suspected of smuggling large amounts of cocaine to Israel on El Al planes.

The first of Israel's El Al Airlines order of 16 Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets, lands at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel August 23, 2017 (photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
The first of Israel's El Al Airlines order of 16 Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets, lands at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel August 23, 2017
(photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
A senior official of El Al Airlines was arrested on Monday along with three other suspects on suspicion of smuggling drugs into Israel, the Israel Police said on Monday.
The official, Rami Yogev, was manager of the Development and Resources Department at El Al and worked for the company for two decades. He is suspected of smuggling large amounts of cocaine to Israel aboard El Al planes.
Yogev had very high security clearance and in the past worked directly with the country’s top law enforcement and security agencies, including the Shin Bet. Yogev was initially caught by customs agents at Ben-Gurion Airport with drugs in his possession and was interrogated by the police. Subsequently, the suspicion arose that he had headed a smuggling operation while taking advantage of his position and the company’s planes.
His arrest came following an undercover investigation conducted by the police Unit of International Crime Investigations. Police located and raided a shop on Levinsky Street in Tel Aviv that served as a drug warehouse and arrested him there.
A representative of the Israel Police said the suspicions against Yogev are more serious than those against the other suspects.
El Al has declined to comment on the matter.