A Jerusalem court has extended the detention of a man accused of lacing food products intended for infants and toddlers with sedatives by six days.
The suspect was originally questioned in June regarding the alleged spiking of Prinok fruit puree products.
But the court ruled this week that there is sufficient evidence to continue detention and that the investigation’s findings provide a significant level of reasonable suspicion.
One of the police officers involved in the investigation told the court: “We claim the respondent was deliberately involved and relatively close to the poisoning incident.”
During the hearing, the suspect's lawyer claimed he suffered from bipolar disorder.
An initial assessment at a psychiatric hospital found he was fit to remain in detention. The court ordered he undergo an examination by a psychiatrist at the detention facility.
The case began when three infants were hospitalised in June after consuming the spiked fruit puree.
All had the same symptoms, suffering severe drowsiness and weakness.
Blood tests revealed traces of benzodiazepines, a class of drugs used in anti–anxiety and sedative medications for adults, including Valium and Xanax.
Investigators noticed that the infants’ symptoms developed shortly after consuming the Prinok baby food, purchased at two different branches of the Zol U’ B ‘Gadol supermarket chain in Jerusalem.
The court determined that there was sufficient evidence to justify continued detention. The judge stated: “The respondent is suspected of being involved in the deliberate poisoning of food products for infants and toddlers. The danger is obvious.”
Further testing found similar substances in additional jars of baby food from the same chain and that the jars had been tampered with before they were placed on supermarket shelves.
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