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Not another Naama: Israeli tourist busted with 2.5 kgs of cannabis in India

India has recently seen a rise in the use and trade of cannabis among Israeli travelers.

By World Israel News Staff

An Israeli tourist has been arrested in India after 2.5 kg of Indian cannabis was found in his possession, reports Channel 12 News.

The Israeli tourist, a male aged 42, was traveling on a bus between the northern towns of Manali and Varanasi on Sunday night. The bus was stopped at a police checkpoint along the way in order to be searched. The Israeli tourist was arrested after the police discovered in his bag a large amount of the illegal drug.

The dealer who sold the drugs to the 42-year-old Israeli in the first place may have been the one who tipped the police off, the report says.

Possession of a commercial quantity of Indian cannabis carries a minimum prison sentence of 10 years with a maximum of 20 years coupled with a fine, based on the current exchange rate, between $1,406  to $2,813.

India has recently been seeing a rise in the use and trade of cannabis among Israeli travelers, the report notes. As a result, India’s Narcotics Control Bureau has been cracking down hard on Israeli tourists, by conducting raids on Israeli guesthouses and searches at security checkpoints.

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Last year, 12 Israelis were arrested in India for possession of Indian cannabis. While some of them have been released on bail, the rest are still in detention.

On April 9, 2019, Naama Issachar, the Israeli woman recently freed from a Russian prison, was heading back to Tel Aviv after a three-month vacation in India. She was arrested before her connecting flight in Moscow for possession of drugs after Russian authorities discovered 9.2 grams of cannabis in her luggage. The amount was considered small and nothing like the 2.5 kilos involved in the above case.