An ongoing undercover investigation involving the Shai (Shomron-Yehuda) police district for a number of months was concluded during the night (Sunday-Monday) of the eve of 19 Tammuz as police and agriculture inspectors and the IDF closed in on suspects operating in the PA (Palestinian Authority). They explain the ring was bringing unapproved eggs into “Israel proper”, selling them to cafes and restaurants without authorization.
According to police, the ring pulled in over NIS 10 million annually, providing an income for a number of Israelis, stressing the eggs in question have no veterinary supervision whatsoever. Officials add that in addition to the law-breaking activities of those involved, the eggs pose a health hazard to the public.
The ring is headed by a 43-year-old Israeli man from Modi’in, who was arrested with 11 others in Ashdod, Yerushalayim, Modi’in Illit, Beit Shemesh, Nes Harim, Moshav Geffen and residents of a number of PA villages. Authorities confiscated foreign currency amounting to tens of thousands of shekels along with thousands of eggs, with the latter being confiscated and destroyed. A warehouse used to store eggs was found in Beit Lakiya and nearby was a machine used to place a forged inspection stamp on the eggs as well as a packing facility. All the suspects were remanded on Monday morning in the Jerusalem Magistrate Court.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem / Photos: Police Spokesman)
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5 Responses
Yoish!
I smell a major price hike!
Do you know that in Israel they pay 18% sales tax on food too!
Bread, milk, eggs etc. That, I submit, may have contributed to this black market.
Please tell me what a fake egg is does it come from a fake chicken. Or is this about money
To #2: eggs obtained from arab chicken coops that are unsupervised by health ministry authorities, chickens that are likely not vaccinated, their feed could be obtained from unknown, unhealthy sources, the entire operation is generally not operating according to even minimal sanitary standards. Salmonella poisoning and other such attractions are commonly found in such unsupervised eggs. So actually, the eggs are “real” not fake. Really unsanitary and a serious health risk if eaten. And I guess it is somewhat about money. Just as kashrus supervision costs money, so does agriculture and health ministry supervision cost money.
I just don’t understand why YWN considers this near-weekly occurrence “news.”
It seems the Palestinians have a surplus of eggs and want to sell them, and the Israelis apparently desire more eggs than their farms provide. So why not arrange for inspections of the Palestinian eggs and have them sold legally. I suspect the Palestinian farmers would gladly pay to have their eggs certified for sale in Israel, so it wouldn’t cost anything. And of course, trade tends to discourage wars since it increases the cost of a war (the Palestinian farmer tells his neighbor: you can’t go off and do an intifada – I’ll go broke).
#4 – akuperma
It’s not just having an inspector come by once in a while.
In order to get certified, these farmers would have to invest in machinery and a setup that would be health certified, and maintain it properly. This would include sanitary conditions, a clean water supply, etc.