מרמה ומתן שוחד: מעצר חשודים בעקבות העברה במבחן רישוי, של אוטובוסים ורכבי הסעות עם ליקויי בטיחות

The Israel Police stated: "Over the past few months, the central unit of the Traffic Division has been conducting an investigation into fraud and bribery for passing vehicles with safety defects through the licensing test at the Ashdod Institute, without meeting legal and safety requirements and sometimes even without the vehicles reaching the licensing institute. As part of the affair and the transition to an open investigation a few days ago, 6 suspects, examiners from the Ashdod Licensing Institute, were arrested and brought in for questioning, at the end of which they were imprisoned and their detention was extended in court for an additional 8 days. As part of a significant development in the investigation, suspicion arose that at the Ashdod Licensing Institute, buses and shuttle vehicles belonging to a Sderot transportation company were passed through the licensing test, fraudulently and while accepting and giving bribes, despite the vehicles' life-threatening safety defects. Detectives from the central unit of the Traffic Division raided the offices of the transportation company in Sderot and arrested, among other things, the company's owner who, according to the suspicion, served as a central factor in the company's bribery scheme. In addition, detectives detained 3 additional suspects, including another owner of the company, a partner in the company, and the company's safety officer. During a search of the transportation company in Sderot, in cooperation with the Heavy Vehicle Unit of the Traffic Division, the only one of its kind in Israel, 5 buses were located in which the chassis number did not match the license plate number of the bus. According to the suspicion, this was the suspects' way of passing the transportation vehicles' licensing test, fraudulently, in exchange for money, and at the expense of risking the lives of road users. In addition, additional documents and evidence were seized. The four suspects were brought in for questioning. One of them, the owner of the company, was imprisoned and his detention was extended for an additional 8 days. The Israel Police Traffic Division warns that vehicles that are not in good condition and enter the road pose a real danger to human life, especially when it comes to transportation vehicles that transport "Daily commuters". Photo credit: Police spokeswoman