Two 23-year-old Haredi women from the Sharon area were arrested Saturday night at Krakow airport in Poland after customs officers found 100 kilograms of khat in their suitcases. They had flown from Israel and were on their way to Frankfurt when police checked their baggage during a routine inspection on the connecting flight. Each woman was carrying 50 kilograms, and the drugs were packed openly rather than hidden. Officers identified the contents immediately and detained them.
During questioning, the two gave conflicting accounts. One said she did not know khat was illegal, adding, “The person who told me to carry it said everything was fine and it was legal.” The other claimed she did not know the plants were in the suitcase at all, saying, “I have no idea what was in the suitcase, only my friend said let’s fly for a few days. We’ll travel and come back.”
The arrest highlights how organized crime groups in Israel are reportedly targeting young Haredi men and women, luring them with promises that the offense will end in only a fine. In exchange for a plane ticket and a few thousand shekels for spending money, the couriers end up in foreign prisons. Khat is highly sought after in Europe, where smuggling it is treated as a serious drug offense, and criminal networks allegedly make millions of shekels from it.
Polish authorities ordered the women held for three months even before any indictment was filed. The women said the interrogation was conducted without an interpreter or lawyer, and that they were taken to a prison that once served as Gestapo headquarters. In Israel, passengers used to be able to fly with khat, but former public security minister Gilad Erdan tightened the rules several years ago and banned it. It is not yet clear whether the suitcases were missed in Israeli screening or whether that regulation has expired. Attorney Nir Yislovitz, who represents one of the women, said his office is coordinating with the relevant authorities, including prosecutors and consular officials, to protect his client’s rights.
