Man Charged with Poisoning Baby Food Jars in Jerusalem

The State Attorney's Office has filed an indictment against Yan Shamla, 41, from Beersheba, for allegedly introducing prescription drugs into jars of baby food and placing them for sale in Jerusalem supermarkets. The alleged incidents occurred in May and June 2026. Shamla is accused of crushing benzodiazepine pills, which are prohibited for children without expert approval, and inserting them into "Prinok" brand baby food jars at "Zol u'Vagadol" chain stores.

In the first incident, at a branch on Jaffa Road near Mahane Yehuda Market, Shamla allegedly placed two poisoned jars, each containing the equivalent of 17 or more pills. One jar was purchased by a mother, and her 12-year-old daughter fed it to her two younger sisters, aged approximately three and a half and eight months. The infants immediately collapsed, were evacuated by ambulance, and hospitalized with severe benzodiazepine poisoning, ten times the normal range.

In a second incident at another Jaffa Road branch near the Central Bus Station, Shamla allegedly placed four more poisoned jars, each containing the equivalent of 17 or more prescription pills. Three infants, aged approximately three, 11 months, and three, were fed from a purchased jar and within minutes began suffering from confusion, drowsiness, unsteadiness, and loss of muscle tone. They were evacuated and hospitalized with severe benzodiazepine poisoning.

Following these events, all of the company's baby food jars were removed from the supermarket shelves, additional poisoned jars were found, and the two branches of the chain were ordered closed. The indictment charges Shamla with five counts of using dangerous poison, five counts of assaulting a minor or helpless person, two counts of attempted use of dangerous poison, two counts of attempted assault of a minor or helpless person, and one count of theft. Prosecutor Moriah Bayna Weissman stated that the acts represent a severe attack on infants using a basic product meant to nourish them, amplifying the severity of the crimes.