27 indicted in Lod over Telegrass Telegram cannabis network
Israeli prosecutors indicted 27 defendants at the Central District Court in Lod over the Telegram-based cannabis sales network Telegrass. The indictments followed a March sweep in four countries in which police said they arrested 42 people.
On 18 April 2019 the State Attorney’s Office filed indictments against 27 defendants at the Central District Court in Lod over Telegrass, a Telegram network police said mainly sold cannabis.[1][2][3][4]The charges varied by defendant and included drug sales, brokering sales, inducing minors to use drugs, possession for non-personal use, obstruction of justice, money laundering, tax evasion and criminal organisation offences.[2][4]Prosecutors asked the court to keep 22 defendants in custody through the proceedings.[2][3]
On 12 March, Israel Police said officers had arrested 42 people in Israel, the United States, Ukraine and Germany after an undercover investigation.[1][5][6][7]Investigators from the Lahav 433 unit worked with police and prosecutors in Israel and with foreign enforcement agencies.[5]Police said raids on dozens of homes and offices turned up drugs, cash and equipment.[1][5][6]The police sought extensions of detention at magistrates’ courts in Nazareth and Rishon Lezion, and lawyers said their clients denied involvement.[5]CTech reported that senior members Ran Buganim and Ofer Rehima began cooperating with investigators a week after the arrests.[7]
Police said founder Amos Dov Silver was arrested in Ukraine.[5][6][7]Channel 13 listed him among the April defendants, while Ynet reported that he was excluded from those indictments and CTech reported in July that he would be charged after extradition.[7][2][3]CTech named Bar-El Levi as defendant number one and head of Israeli operations and identified Yossi “Gal” Meshi as the finance chief.[7]
Prosecutors alleged that the network brokered sales for more than 3,000 dealers, including at least 250 minors, to about 200,000 buyers, and estimated its income from brokering at no less than 30 million shekels.[2][3]CTech cited a police estimate of 4.12 tonnes of marijuana sold in 505,680 transactions from March 2017 to November 2018, worth 282 million shekels.[7]Channel 13 reported that police took testimony from 90 people, questioned 50 under caution and held 33 for varying periods.[3]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
42
Charged
27
Agencies
Israel Police; Lahav 433; State Attorney's Office cyber department
Agency type
Police, Prosecutor
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis
Activity
Sale, Trafficking, Money and assets
Setting
Online
Charges
offences under the law against criminal organisations; brokering the sale of dangerous drugs; selling dangerous drugs; inducing a minor to use dangerous drugs; possession of drugs not for personal use; obstruction of justice; money laundering; tax evasion
Channel 13 listed Amos Silver among the 27 defendants, while Ynet said he was not included and CTech reported in July that he was to be charged following extradition.
Ynet described Bar-El Levi as a deputy operations manager, while CTech called him a co-founder and head of Israeli operations.
March coverage described a months-long undercover investigation, while CTech’s July report described a two-year operation.
The police report cited by CTech measured 4.12 tonnes of cannabis sales for a specified period, while the indictment alleged tens of tonnes of drugs in total.
Reuters reported more than 100,000 Telegrass members in Israel, and i24NEWS reported 200,000 to 250,000 users. Prosecutors separately estimated about 200,000 buyers.
Police gave no combined weight of the drugs seized in the March raids.
The outcome of the April indictments for the group of 27 defendants was not reported in these accounts.
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.
Israeli police said they found about 25 kg of suspected hashish in a car near Rahat and seized stolen military weapons in a series of operations in Bedouin towns in the Negev. Several suspects were arrested, including the car's 28-year-old driver from Tarabin; police gave no total.
Police raided a compound in the Western Galilee village of Yarka on 20 October 2026, seizing about 8 kg of hashish and 1,000 Captagon pills intended for distribution plus phones and surveillance gear, arresting two local suspects for questioning.
