An American who recently immigrated to Israel was stopped this week by Haifa customs officials as he apparently tried to smuggle dozens of prohibited knives and alcohol bottles into Israel from the U.S.
The man, a 55-year-old resident of Ma\’alot who moved to Israel several months ago, declared on customs forms that the container that arrived in Haifa contained personal belongings from his previous home in the U.S. The profiling system used by customs officials identified the container for special examination by the Drugs Unit of Haifa\’s Tax Authority.
Upon examination, the container was found to hold more than just furniture and other personal effects that the man had declared. It also contained many undeclared items, including safes, light bulbs, two antique pianos, 33 bottles of liquor and 82 commando knives of different types (including retractable knives and machetes), which are prohibited from being imported to Israel.
The man was called in for questioning by Haifa customs officials. He claimed that a mistake by the shipping company led to the false customs declaration. The knives were impounded and the rest of the undeclared items will be subject to further Tax Authority procedures.