Jerusalem – The Tel Aviv Prosecution filed a bill of indictment on behalf of the State of Israel against Benzion Miller, 32, of Kochav Yaakov, for peddling drugs and conning three naive yeshiva students into becoming unwitting couriers to smuggle drugs into Japan. Miller is presently under arrest.
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The bill of indictment claims that Miller allegedly conspired to export Ecstasy drugs from Holland to Japan in March, 2008. Working together with other criminals, Miller looked for individuals who would agree to unwittingly carry the drugs for them. He managed to convince 3 youths, one a 17-year old minor, and the other two 18-year olds, after agreeing to pay them $1,500 for taking suitcases for him to Japan, and another $1,000 when they returned to Israel.
Miller allegedly bought three tickets to Amsterdam, and connecting flights to Tokyo for the boys. He instructed the three youth to travel to Amsterdam, stay overnight in a hotel, accept suitcases they would be given, take them as luggage to Tokyo and give them over to a person he would name.
The three boys traveled on April 1, 2008 to the Ben Gurion Airport and left on a flight to Amsterdam. That night in a hotel, they received three suitcases from an unknown person. The suitcases had false bottoms in which 90,492 Ecstasy pills were hidden, weighing a total of 25 kilograms.
The boys left Amsterdam by plane and arrived in Tokyo on April 3, where they were immediately arrested. The boys have spent close to a year isolated in primitive conditions in a Japanese prison, while their lawyers have been preparing their defense. Since they are not allowed kosher food, they have subsisted on bread and meager fare.
Miller is accused of perpetrating a crime (import and export of a dangerous drug), conspiring to carry out the crime, and inciting a youth to drugs. The court was asked to confirm that Miller is a drug peddler and the 23,720 new Israeli shekels that were confiscated from his house should be declared forfeit to the State of Israel. The prosecutors are seeking a stiff prison sentence for him.
The bill of indictment includes a hundred witnesses who are willing to testify, including the three imprisoned boys, other chareidi youths from Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Netanya, and Rechovot who were asked to be couriers, representatives of cellphone companies, police investigators, and a long string of Japanese border police, custom officers and court prosecutors.
Whoever was responsible for roping in the naive victims for nefarious purposes, causing them, their family and the wider frum community the terrible trauma, shame and costs they have been suffering the past year with no end yet in site, should rot in jail for the rest of his life said one Charedi man outside the court house last week.
Unfortunately, while catching the middleman who sends innocent people to a horrible fate is unlikely to prevent others from following in his footsteps, it still sends an important message that justice will come, remarked Israel lawyer Mr. Motty Tzivin who is representing two of the boys held in Japan.
And it’s a reminder to parents: Instead of relying on police or court punishments or verdicts, teach your children to be wary of strangers offering them a free lunch, said Mr. Tzvin.
Hopefully this will help sway the opinion of the judge in Japan. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the point of the indictment at this time.
baruch shecheeyanu lazman hazeh. hopefully the real story will finally emerge .
Call me naive but could someone please explain how it is possible a Hassid could possibly be involved in a drug ring? Where would this young man have any shaichus to those types of people?
The article reads: “He instructed the three youth to travel to Amsterdam, stay overnight in a hotel, accept suitcases they would be given, take them as luggage to Tokyo”
I heared that they first travled to Lizensk. Please clearify.
who travels to a foreign city stays in a hotel takes suitcases without question?
THROW THE BOOK AT HIM LET HIM SIT IN PRISON UNTILL MOSIACH COMES
ANYONE WHO CAN DO THIS DESERVES NOTHING LESS!
Since he conspired something that illegal in Japan, he should be extradited to face justice in Japan.
This Miller guy is not the head..hes only a minor body part (that he should be hanged by). who is his boss? They should all serve their term in the Japanese prison.
what is going on with the trial of these three innocent victims?
You are way to naïve #4 it even happens in london !!! This rusha needs to rot in hell trust is not on option any moren sad to say but educate your kids to question
The big question is: Will this help the release of the 3 young bochurim?
To #4 LOL. You can’t be serious.
I agree 100% with what the writer said: “And it’s a reminder to parents: Instead of relying on police or court punishments or verdicts, teach your children to be wary of strangers offering them a free lunch, said Mr. Tzvin.” The parents are the first line of defense – if the children learned from them, then they wouldn’t have fallen prey to Miller.
I also see that Miller is only 21 years old – where are his parents? Didn’t they notice anything amiss? He wasn’t engaged in smuggling for the fun of it – he was making money – unfortunately off the backs of the three innocents who are sitting in jail in Japan.
I hope the Japanese will ask for an extradition of this animal.
That would possibly help to vindicate these three boys.
As far as this ‘behemah’ is concerned, I hope the Japanese jail him (not the Israelis) and throw away the key.
He is 32 Yrs old not 21, read the indicement born 1977
At the airport everyone gets asked the same question: DID YOU PACK YOUR OWN SUITCASES?
I am not a poisek…I never learned or asked a gudel..about the mitzveh of pidyun sheveem…but all of your comments till now..only says one message let him “rot” in hell…who says?? Maybe the mitzveh of bailing out a jew from jail!! Still applys to this miller?? Again,,I am not saying that he doesn’t deserve a big punishment for destroing “FAMILYS” for ever…but there is still a mitzveh of pidyen shvuyem..that maybe apply here??
No 35.
The Mitsvo of Pidyon Shevuyim is to release people that have been kidnapped, not to try and spring villains from rightful incarceration.
There was a sign in a Chasidish Shul last week asking if anyone was willing to take a suitcase to Israel for money…Yep…the Frum people will never learn thier lesson, i have the note and the phone number, i called the number and she told me that they are dong this for years allready, and when i told them that they will be aressted for dong this, she hung up the phone , disaster waiting to strike at dumb naieve chasiddim again…
I am afraid that we’re missing the point, warn you kids, tell them how dangerous the world is!!!
May these help to bring the three bachurim home for Purim!
what more do u expect from an uneducated 32 year old?? those who go thru the chassidish school system don’t have the means of making a living so usually turn to illegal hustling to make a dollar.
The obvious question is why doesn’t israel send this bum to Japan in exchange for the three innocent neshomos? Why is Israel not doing a diplomatic maneuver in this case???