But Malka had become an ecstasy smuggler. Malka, investigators say, had met up with Amar in New York, and Amar had tempted Malka into joining his smuggling business. Police came to his house one evening in February while Malka was feeding his baby and charged him with ecstasy smuggling, said his wife, Yara. They were independent entrepreneurs, said one New York investigator involved in the case. They were looking to make an easy buck.
Quick money is the driving force behind the trade, Israeli police say.
In Israel, as in the United States, the appetite for ecstasy has grown enormously. At a recent rave in the Judean desert overlooking the Dead Sea, young Israelis danced to pounding electronic music until the pale sun came up over the mountains of Jordan, across the saline waters of the lowest place on Earth. Many ravers acknowledged that ecstasy, which stimulates feelings of happiness, affection and energy, was fueling their dancing. Israeli police were out in force at the rave, however, and this was part of a conscious effort to clamp down on ecstasy's distribution and use. We planted agents in the schools, said Susie Ben Baruch, head of the youth department of the Israeli police force.