Many ships passed through the port of Haifa and the sailors took advantage of their visit to Israel to smuggle goods from Europe and America, goods that were not available at that time. We were then familiar with many brands that in Israel one could only dream of. All the neighbors knew that Shoshi had managed to obtain real 'Palmolive' soap from America.
Haifa, a newly born country, and imports are limited to the most essential. Many products that were not regularly imported were not due to customs duties, which skyrocketed. The main street in lower Haifa in the port area was full of stalls selling smuggled goods and cosmetics, and the main concern was counterfeits and exorbitant prices. The country has not yet
A bat mitzvah was celebrated and the well-oiled smuggling system was conducted with great professionalism.
A typical smuggling operation went like this: A sailor on a ship that had entered port on a hot summer day would leave his ship to go on a beach vacation wearing three or four sets of clothes. The customs officers were not interested in the clothes on his body, only in hand-carried packages. That's the law. No one knows who invented it or what number it is in the law book. That's how it goes on in peace. A ship returns to its home port and unloads illegal goods. In effect, it's a kind of extension of the law that allows a traveler from abroad to bring a number of products for personal use.
Someone is waiting for the loaded seafarer in the stairwell of one of the houses near the harbor, where he has stripped off his clothes and returned to the ship in his tank top and shorts. A short time later he is off again on a "beach vacation" looking like a polar grizzly bear in the scorching sun. In his hand he is holding a small bag that is being thoroughly inspected by the customs officer. The fact that he has gained thirty kilos is of no interest to anyone. And so on and so forth until all the goods have been smuggled off the ship.
Jeans were known as "dungarees" and were a hit, and if you asked the smugglers for jeans, no one knew what you meant. These were the happy sixties. The nimble merchants knew and were familiar with the hot products and in a mini-auction they purchased the entire contents and in a short time everything was displayed for sale in the stalls. The smarter ones were the creators
Contact a number of sailors before the voyage and order certain products that are in high demand. The brightest among them would finance the entire transaction in advance. The sailor does not waste time on sales and receives the profit in advance. Financing and ordering products before the voyage increased the audacity in the amount of smuggled goods.
The police knew the process and everyone knew it. No one lifted a finger and the world went on as usual. The close and knowledgeable could indulge in products that others could not even dream of… except… greed led some strategist seafarers to leverage the import of goods to the level of importers without a license. Large quantities of goods are in demand in an austerity state where any non-basic product can only be purchased on the black market. Customs officers began to carry out surprise inspection raids with the aim of exposing the loot, punishing the scoundrels and perhaps bringing a little ‘dungarees’ for the child.
One is a treasurer and the other is a seeker, and this battle of wits has produced extraordinary inventions. Anyone who has ever been in the belly of a ship has surely seen the labyrinth of pipes that adorned the spaces. Anyone who is curious and asks, can learn the specifications for this pipework at the School of Marine Mechanics. One of the most important treasure troves for goods was in the depths between
For pipes in places where the white man's foot has never set foot.
A customs officer equipped with a broken mirror that he aimed with one hand and a powerful flashlight with the other were the terror of the traders. The packages began to be buried deep in the pipes, and then the first startup was invented at the port of Haifa. A selfie stick with a broken mirror at the end that was used for shaving in the training camps, and thus the searcher's hand extended between the pipes.
Years later, when they were renovating the cargo ship "Geffen," they found a large amount of loot stuck in the bow of the ship, hidden so well that even the smuggler couldn't find it. A lot of goods were seized until a new hiding place was found... And here I am about to reveal a hidden secret that only a few in the universe knew. The customs officers patrolled the street of stalls near the port and found an abundance of goods. How? After all, all smuggling, or most of it, was thwarted, so where did this abundance come from?
The world of commerce has changed and we are flooded with goods from all over the world, so I don't expect a suitcase at my door for revealing the secret. In any case, I would ask that you not give out my address to a suspicious person, even if he is a beautiful brunette with black silk stockings. In the latter case, think twice.
Before entering the port, as the police boat approached the ship, a sealed bag was thrown from the deck into the water, containing a large amount of goods intended for smuggling, and a strong nylon string was tied to a hiding place on the railing.
Sassoon, the sergeant in charge, uncovered the method, and discovered smuggled goods and did not reveal his secret to anyone. This earned him the title of expert in exposing smuggling. He sailed the boat around the ship and cut all the wires at the waterline. Once, by mistake, he almost cut the anchor, shhh….
Ilan wrote correctly and accurately.
Two facts to complete:
1. The nickname of the customs group that would board the ships to search for smuggled goods was the BLACK GANG.
2. As Ilan pointed out, the fact that the sailors were smuggling goods was known to everyone. They could have easily stopped it by searching the sailors' clothes, as well as raiding the stalls on Independence Street. Confiscating the goods and making it very difficult for the sailors to sell the goods.
The directive from above was to allow sailors to earn this extra money to increase motivation to remain in the merchant fleet.
Thank you for a captivating, fascinating and interesting story.
I learned many things from him that I didn't know before.
A naive reader could easily assume that the writer of this story had moves among the sailors. His knowledge of the details gives him away. But knowing from the source, I know that Ilan Segal is not like that.
Thank you Rafi, thank you.
Stunning and real 🍎
Well done to you, Ilan Segal.