Two Israelis Arrested in Poland With 100 Kg of Khat in Luggage

Two Israeli women, aged 23 and 24, were arrested at Krakow-Balice Airport in Poland after arriving from Tel Aviv with 100 kilograms of khat in their suitcases, Poland’s Customs and Revenue Administration, KAS, said Thursday. Khat is legal in Israel and Yemen, but is banned in many countries worldwide because of its stimulant properties.

According to the report, customs officers from the Mazovia and Malopolska regions found the drugs divided into about 500 packages inside four suitcases. The luggage contained bundles of green leaves with green-purple stems, and a laboratory test confirmed the substance was khat.

Officials estimated the seizure at more than 500,000 zlotys, about 400,000 shekels. The women were detained at the airport, then transferred to the Krakow-Pradnik Bialy district prosecutor’s office, where they were charged with trafficking illegal drugs. A court later ordered three months of pretrial detention.

If convicted, they could face between 3 and 20 years in prison for smuggling a commercial quantity of drugs. The Polish customs investigation is continuing under prosecutorial supervision. The case comes amid repeated incidents over the past decade in which young Israelis have been caught abroad smuggling khat, often in commercial quantities.