Through great Providence, a terrible threat was foiled this week at the Ben Gurion airport: a 36-year-old Israeli of Uzbek nationality and an Uzbek woman tried to take dolls and toys filled with bullets onto a flight to Uzbekistan. Their purpose was apparently to test the security setup in the Ben Gurion airport in preparation for a possible major terrorist attack.
The incident took place this past Monday afternoon. The Israeli citizen arrived at the security check point of Air Uzbekistan to have his luggage x-rayed. The officers noticed a toy boat which contained a small arsenal full of bullets. As they realized what it was, the passenger noticed and tried to flee but they succeeded in arresting him within minutes.
At the initial interrogation, he claimed that he had received the baggage from a passenger whom he did not know, who asked him to help her with her very heavy luggage. The security officers decided to detain the flight and examine all of the baggage which had already been loaded on the plane.
At the same time, the suspect passenger led the police to the Duty Free area where he pointed out the woman passenger who had given him the heavy travel case. A third passenger, an Uzbeki, was also found to be carrying dolls and toys filled with ammunition.
Additional security agents rushed to the area together with police officers and all the suspects were arrested. "As a result of this, security measures at the airport are being strongly reinforced," said the administrator of the airport security force, Zohar Gefen, during this activity. "We've located ammunition and dangerous material and are doing our maximum to finish this investigation and release the plane for its flight."
A preliminary investigation of the Security Force reveals a suspicion that all this involved only two passengers who together attempted, with outside coaching, to test the checkout effectiveness at the airport in preparation for a major terrorist attack, and to report back to their superiors. This, and hopefully a future attempt, were, boruch Hashem, foiled.
