Jerusalem, 14 September, 2026 (TPS-IL) — A Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Monday published a ruling that acquitted a scooter rider accused of possessing drugs for non-personal use after ruling that Police had conducted an unlawful search of his trunk.
Police stopped the rider at a checkpoint and asked him to open his trunk. Police later found bags allegedly containing 89.32 grams of cannabis and 14.61 grams of hashish.
The officer testified that he smelled suspected cannabis and told the rider he had authority to search. However, body-camera footage showed he had not obtained consent or informed the rider of reasonable suspicion before ordering him to open the trunk.
The judge ruled that opening the trunk constituted a search and that police lacked legal authority to conduct it. She excluded the drugs as evidence and acquitted the accused due to reasonable doubt.