Tel-Chai Nation: Bribe-taking policeman indicted

An Arabic border policeman has been caught taking bribes and helping smuggle Arabs into Jerusalem:

Ibrahim Ghanem, a 26-year-old border policeman from Sajur, was indicted on Thursday on suspicion of smuggling illegal Palestinian workers through a security checkpoint under his command on the northern outskirts of Jerusalem in exchange for bribes and various benefits.

Police claim Ghanem smuggled more than 100 illegal workers into the country without any of them undergoing a security check.

The charge sheet filed by the police's Internal Investigations Unit on Thursday includes 14 charges, including accepting bribes, aiding illegal aliens, fraud and unlawful transport.

Three residents of east Jerusalem were also indicted in the case.

In some cases, Ghanem allegedly smuggled 40 illegal workers at a time, and received NIS 50 for each man. He is also accused of giving smugglers sensitive information, such as the license plate numbers of Border Police vehicles, and warning them about patrols to catch smugglers and illegal aliens.

Police also claim Ghanem disrupted their investigation by erasing the numbers of the smugglers with whom he worked from his cell phone. According to the indictment, Ghanem also gave one of his accomplices his ID card, which was taken from him by police during the investigation.

Police claim Ghanem also received benefits, and relayed false reports to his superiors about routine inspections intended to catch illegal workers, which were supposedly carried out at the checkpoint.

Ghanem is also suspected of arms trafficking.

The prosecution has filed a request that the four suspects remain in custody until the end of the legal procedures against them.