35 IDF soldiers and several civilians held in drug trafficking inquiry
Israel's military detained 35 soldiers and several civilians on suspicion of drug trafficking and use after an inquiry by the Military Police's criminal investigation division, with the Military Advocate General and the Israel Police. The suspects were to face military court remand hearings, in a case the army presents as part of enforcing its ban on drug use.
🇮🇱 Israel
Arrested
35
Agencies
Military Police Criminal Investigation Division, Military Advocate General +1
The military police detained 35 soldiers and several Israeli civilians for
questioning on Sunday on suspicion of involvement in drug trafficking and use.[1]Most of the suspects were soldiers from several different units, and some
were also suspected of drug offences inside IDF bases.[1]The 35 soldiers were
to be brought before the military court for remand extensions, and several
Israeli civilians were detained on suspicion of the same offences.[2]The
detentions were announced by the army Spokesperson’s Unit and followed an
inquiry by Israel’s Military Police Criminal Investigation Division, which
detained several Israeli civilians on suspicion of the same offences.[3]The
inquiry was run by the Military Police’s central unit for special
investigations, with the Military Advocate General and the Israel Police.[1]
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit announced that several Israeli civilians and 35
soldiers had been detained on suspicion of drug trafficking and use.[4]Days
earlier, an Engineering Corps officer had been detained on suspicion of smoking
marijuana on dozens of occasions, and close to 70 soldiers had been arrested in
various drug operations during the previous month.[1]Middle East Monitor
reported, citing the Israel Anti-Drugs Authority, that at least 54 per cent of
Israeli soldiers had smoked cannabis in the past year.[3]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
35
Agencies
Military Police Criminal Investigation Division; Military Advocate General; Israel Police
Agency type
Military, Prosecutor, Police
Activity
Possession, Sale, Use
Setting
Home
Case stage
Under investigation
Force
No force reported
Region
Israel
Sources
Ynetynet.co.ilHE35 חיילים ואזרחים נחקרו בחשד לסחר ושימוש בסמים
The reports name no arrests beyond the 35 soldiers, and the number of Israeli civilians detained is not given; the military said only that several suspects had been arrested.
No amount or type of drug was published, and it is not clear which drugs were used and trafficked; the cannabis link comes from the Israeli framing of the case around soldiers' marijuana use, not from a stated seizure.
The incident date is the day of the IDF announcement, 2 September 2018; no time for the detentions is given.
No charges, remand decisions or court outcomes for the 35 soldiers were reported in these accounts.
Daily Sabah dates the army Spokesperson's Unit announcement to Monday, while JPost and Ynet date it to Sunday, 2 September 2018; the earlier date is used.
The submitted JPost page supplies only the headline, the standfirst and an illustrative photo caption in the opened text, so its figures rest on the Ynet, Daily Sabah and Middle East Monitor accounts of the same announcement.
The reports also mention a separate February arrest of 10 soldiers at the Negev officers' training base and the October 2017 death of a soldier jailed for drug use; those are different events and are not covered here.
Police brought Leonid Gleizer, 28, of Hadera, before the Kiryat Shmona Magistrate's Court after a search of his car and person found about 250 grams of suspected cannabis and cash. Judge Eran Bar-Or extended his detention until 15 November 2026 on suspicion of trafficking and possession not for personal use.
Police from the Zevulun station arrested a 24-year-old Kiryat Yam man on suspicion of running a drugs laboratory at 11 Shapira Street in Haifa. A Haifa magistrate extended his detention by four days, to 9 November, after his lawyer and the police agreed, and a second suspect was mentioned in court.
Kfar Saba police raided a plant nursery in Hod Hasharon on 21 July 2026 and seized more than 200 kilograms of marijuana and hashish, some of it hidden in chocolate, cookies and candy. Four central Israel residents were arrested, and a court extended their detention until 27 July.
Israel Police arrested two Bedouin cousins, aged 16 and 20, from Al-Azazma in the Negev after watching a drone land near the Egyptian border and finding about 45 kilograms of hashish in their vehicle. Prosecutors are expected to file an indictment that would use a new border-sovereignty offence for the first time in the Southern District.
