Police Arrest 12 in Jordan Valley Gambling Raid

Israel Police and Border Police officers arrested 12 suspects late last week in a raid on a site allegedly used for illegal gambling near Almog Junction in the Jordan Valley. They also seized cash and gambling equipment.

According to the police spokesperson's unit, the raid was carried out by officers from the Jordan Valley police station and a Border Police special unit from the Judea and Samaria district. Police described it as part of a proactive operation against illegal gambling offenses in the area. When the forces entered the compound, they found suspects playing card and dice games that were allegedly being used for gambling.

Some of the suspects tried to flee through a back exit, but officers detained all 12 people who were at the site. Police then searched the premises and the suspects themselves. They seized about NIS 19,000 in cash, $5,000, 375 Russian rubles and two checks worth a combined NIS 5,500.

The police seizure (Photo: Israel Police Spokesperson's Unit)

Officers also confiscated equipment allegedly used to run the gambling operation. It included dice, decks of cards, notebooks for recording results and a digital video recorder (DVR). All the suspects and the seized items were taken to the Jordan Valley station in the Judea and Samaria District for further investigation.

The raid is the latest in a series of police enforcement actions against illegal gambling in recent days. About a week and a half earlier, Tel Aviv police raided gambling houses in Bat Yam and Ramat Gan. They seized about half a million shekels in cash and arrested four suspects, three of them members of the same family.

In a separate case that came to light the same week, officers from the Jordan Valley station arrested a Palestinian man who was walking around in military boots. A search of his home turned up an airsoft gun, knives and a map of the communities bordering the Gaza Strip that was marked "secret." The suspect was jailed after he was questioned.