Frenchman Romain Franck in court in Israel for allegedly using consulate vehicle for gun runs

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A French citizen working for France’s consulate in Jerusalem has appeared in court in Israel on suspicion of smuggling dozens of weapons to Palestinians, officials have said.

The Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, identified the suspect as 23-year-old Romain Franck. He is accused of using a consular vehicle to elude tight security checks and transfer 70 pistols and two assault rifles from Gaza to the occupied West Bank during five trips.

Franck was allegedly part of a Palestinian gun-running ring, moving the weapons for financial gain while his employer was unaware, the agency said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Romain Franck. Photograph: Shin Bet

“This is a very serious incident in which the privileges and immunity granted to foreign missions in Israel were cynically exploited to smuggle dozens of weapons that could be used in terror attacks,” it said.

The statement said the man had confessed to receiving arms from an employee at the French cultural centre in Gaza and bringing them to the West Bank, where they were then sold on to arms dealers.

Franck “acted for financial profit, on his own initiative and without the knowledge of his superiors”, a Shin Bet statement said. He is not believed to have had ideological motives such as support for Palestinian militants, a Shin Bet official told Reuters.

Franck was arrested in February on the border with Gaza and appeared in court in southern Israel on Monday. Previous reporting restrictions on the case were lifted at the hearing. Nine others have been arrested, the Shin Bet said, including a Palestinian security guard also working at the French consulate.

Officials sent an image of Franck to reporters and a photo of a silver SUV it said was a consular vehicle, which allows diplomats to avail of reduced security checks.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The silver SUV Shin Bet said was a consular vehicle. Photograph: Shin Bet

It was not clear what level of diplomatic immunity, if any, he holds. His level of immunity could affect whether he is tried in Israel or expelled to France, if found guilty.

“We take this case very seriously and are in close contact with the Israeli authorities,” a spokesman for the French embassy in Tel Aviv said.

“He has benefited and continues to enjoy the consular protection” provided to French nationals, the spokesman added.

The Israeli foreign ministry was quoted by the Times of Israel online newspaper as saying “this is a very serious incident” but added “ties with France are excellent and the affair doesn’t adversely affect them”.

A Facebook page under the name of Romain Franck with photographs similar to the mugshot published by the Shin Bet showed a young man in the Middle East. One post from January 2017 said the account holder was travelling to Jerusalem to “start a new adventure”.

The sensitive case comes ahead of a planned visit next week by the French foreign foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, to Israel and the Palestinian territories.