A Chabad representative has been arrested in Spain after police found four kilograms of cocaine in his suitcase.

Eliyahu Hecht, who is based in Safed, was detained by police during a stopover on his flight from Costa Rica back home to Israel.

A friend said Mr Hecht had not known the drugs were in his possession and had been the victim of a smuggling scam. He said that before boarding the flight a woman asked Mr Hecht to deliver a suitcase to a woman in Madrid, but he refused.

Chabad activists have launched a campaign to raise money to defend Mr Hecht in the case.