Underpaid or greedy?
Police Internal Affairs: Senior Officer Stole From Grocery Store
The Internal Affairs department of Israel Police is investigating allegations that a senior officer in a sensitive role stole products off the shelves of a major grocery chain. The officer is already under investigation for unrelated charges.
Israel Police Internal Affairs Department (Mahash) has opened an investigation into a senior officer suspected of stealing food items from a supermarket, in a case that has stunned colleagues and could end the veteran investigator’s career.
According to information first reported by mako, the officer, holding the rank of Rav-Pakad and serving in the Central District in a sensitive investigative role, was recently questioned under caution after allegedly being caught stealing products from a major supermarket chain. The incident was reported to the police, which immediately transferred the matter to Mahash for examination.
The officer was questioned and later released under restrictive conditions. Police sources told reporters that if the allegations prove true, the officer “must step down from the force.” Mahash confirmed the details.
The suspect is described as a highly experienced investigator who helped crack several major cases in recent years, many of which drew significant public attention. But the current suspicion — combined with an unrelated, already pending indictment filed against him by Mahash — could bring his service to an abrupt end.
A senior police source quoted in additional reporting said the case is serious both because of the alleged act itself and because of the officer’s position and responsibilities. “If the details are correct,” the source said, “he should resign.”
The incident comes amid what police and retailers describe as a growing wave of supermarket thefts nationwide. Recent cases have included a couple from Netanya accused of systematically stealing items worth thousands of shekels from a Yochananof branch. Prosecutors allege they repeatedly loaded carts with high-value goods, scanned only a fraction of them and exited without paying the full cost. Their scheme continued over multiple visits before employees caught them, leading to charges filed at the Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court.
The officer’s case, however, has drawn particular scrutiny because of his rank, access and longstanding public-facing work. Mahash investigators are expected to continue collecting evidence in the coming days. Police officials emphasized that disciplinary and employment consequences will depend on the outcome of the investigation, but privately acknowledge that the allegations could be career-ending if substantiated.