Police Release, Re-arrest Suspects in 100,000 Euro Copper Theft

Three suspects apprehended with copper spools valued at 100,000 euros were initially released by police along with the stolen goods and their vehicle. The incident began on Friday night when Border Police officers caught the suspects loading copper spools, intended for a light rail project and worth approximately 100,000 euros, onto a van after they had broken into a logistics center in Atarot. The officers brought the suspects, the van, and the spools to the Shefet station in Jerusalem. According to reports, the station lacked an on-duty investigator, and the investigating officer on call, informed by phone, ordered the suspects' release, allowing them to leave with the van and the copper. The extent of the lapse became clear the following morning. Police were compelled to operate in the West Bank to re-apprehend the suspects, who had already been in their custody hours earlier. While the suspects were arrested again, the copper spools were no longer found. The police dispute the claim that no investigator was on duty, stating the suspects were indeed interrogated. However, they did not explain why the suspects were released with the van and the spools after their initial questioning. In response, the police stated that the investigation is ongoing and that the suspects were rearrested in the West Bank on suspicion of infrastructure theft. They emphasized their extensive efforts to locate and recover the stolen property, including operations in the West Bank. The police also confirmed that an immediate internal review was initiated following the initial release to examine the sequence of events, draw lessons, and refine procedures to prevent similar incidents in the future.