Cleared for publication: Yan Shmala is the suspect in the baby food poisoning case
His defense attorney claimed he suffers from manic depression, but a psychiatric evaluation determined he is fit for detention. Five children were hospitalized after sedatives and sleeping pills were found in the baby food. Shmala's detention has been extended until Sunday.
It has been cleared for publication that Yan Shmala, a resident of the South in his 40s, is the suspect in the intentional poisoning of the 'Frinok' brand fruit baby food.
Shmala is suspected of intentional poisoning, using poison to endanger lives, theft, and negligent handling of medication. His attorney claimed during the hearing that he suffers from manic depression, and as a result, he was referred for a psychiatric evaluation. At the end of the evaluation, it was determined that he is fit for detention. The court extended his detention until Sunday.
His arrest comes after a covert investigation that continued following the affair that was exposed in June. Police claimed this week in court that the suspect intentionally injected sedatives into the baby food. The judge who examined the investigation materials determined that there is a reasonable suspicion linking him to the acts.
The affair began after several toddlers arrived at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital suffering from extreme drowsiness, apathy, and weakness. Medical teams identified a similarity between the cases and another case from May, in which a child arrived at the hospital with similar symptoms after eating puree from the same brand.
In total, five children were hospitalized in two separate incidents. Their blood and urine tests showed that they were exposed to substances from the benzodiazepine family, which are used, among other things, in sedatives and sleeping pills. The children were later discharged from the hospitals in good condition.
In tests conducted by the Ministry of Health, the substances clonazepam and lorazepam were found in the purees. In total, five products were identified in which the medicinal substances were found: three of them were handed over for testing by the families of the hospitalized children, and two others were found on the shelves of 'Zol Ve-Gadol' chain branches in Jerusalem.
Already during the investigation, the suspicion strengthened that this was not a malfunction in the production process. The Ministry of Health found an indication that the five packages in which the substances were found had been opened illegally even before they were purchased. At the same time, hundreds of other products were checked, and no unusual findings were found in the importer's warehouses or at other points of sale.
The Ministry of Health also examined the supply chain, including import, storage, and distribution, and received clarifications from the manufacturer in the Czech Republic. The tests did not reveal any indication of a failure in production, import, or storage in the importer's warehouses — findings that already then strengthened the suspicion that the substances were introduced into the products at a later stage in the marketing chain.
Following the discovery of the substances, the Ministry of Health issued administrative stop-work orders for two 'Zol Ve-Gadol' branches in Jerusalem where the purees were purchased, at 113 Jaffa Street and 214 Jaffa Street. Subsequently, both branches were prohibited from selling food products and toiletries. However, a comprehensive recall for 'Frinok' products was not announced, as no indication of a systemic defect was found in the brand's products.
