NOVANEWS
Undercover agent documents rampant sales of date-rape and hard drugs; police claim club owners knew and did nothing.
Haaretz
The Tel Aviv District Police are temporarily shutting down six nightclubs where an undercover agent discovered sales of hard drugs over the past year.
During the operation, the agent gathered evidence on dozens of drug dealers who regularly operated in the clubs and documented sales of large quantities of a date-rape drug, cocaine, marijuana and other illegal substances. Minors were also found in some of the clubs. Police believe the sale of the date-rape drug poses a real danger to women who visit the clubs.
The clubs to be shut down for 30 days are The Dog and the Cat on Carlebach Street, Gitit on Hashmonaim Street, the Clique on Yehuda Halevy Street, The Auto on Dizengoff Street, The Block on Shlomo Street and Comfort on Comfort Street.
The club owners were summoned to a hearing where some of them explained to police that being forced to close now, during Purim season, would be a heavy financial blow to their businesses.
Police, though, refused to compromise. They say their agent also gathered proof that in at least some of the clubs, the proprietors knew about the drug trade on the premises and did nothing to prevent it.
