Israel Police detained and arrested suspects across about 20 locations on Monday morning over a network that sold medical cannabis licences online.[1] Police questioned 16 people: six senior doctors and five other suspects were arrested, and the head of investigations in the national cyber unit said officers searched about 20 sites, arrested 11 people involved and detained five more.[2] The national cyber unit of Lahav 433, Israel Police’s major crimes unit, led the investigation, with the online crime divisions of the Central and Northern districts, the Israel Tax Authority and the cyber department of the State Attorney’s Office.[3]

Police said the suspects advertised the service on the internet and on Telegram, and that licences reached clients within 24 hours without any relevant medical history.[3] Clients paid thousands of shekels for each licence and paid again for renewals and for approvals of larger doses.[3] The licences looked authentic, signed by doctors authorised by the medical cannabis unit of the Health Ministry to approve them.[2] In total the offences committed by the network were estimated by police to be worth more than NIS 17 million.[3] In some cases drug dealers used the approvals obtained from the suspect doctors to sell cannabis at a profit.[3] Drug dealers exploited the network to buy cannabis and sell it on for a profit.[1]

Police also found a company posing as a legitimate service that helped people who sought a licence to invent a cover story to get a cannabis recommendation and the necessary medical documents.[3] The doctors and other suspects were suspected of taking and giving bribes, fraud and breach of trust, drug trafficking and supply, brokering drug deals, aggravated forgery, and offences under the income tax and VAT laws, the anti-money-laundering law and the Physicians Ordinance.[2]