Israel has deployed Special Forces to contend with the smugglers, who often become violent when encountering Israeli interceptors.
By Aryeh Savir, TPS
The IDF foiled on Tuesday an attempt by smugglers on the Egyptian border to traffic about NIS three million worth of cocaine into Israel, the third such interception in a week’s time.
An IDF spokesman stated that its troops thwarted the smuggling of about 15 kilograms of cocaine worth NIS three million on the Egyptian border in the area of the Yoav Territorial Brigade.
“The force operating in the area thwarted the smuggling attempt and transferred the drugs for further treatment by the Israel Police,” the military stated.
This is the third such attempt by smugglers to run cocaine into Israel in a week.
On Saturday, the IDF foiled an attempt to traffic about NIS nine million worth of drugs into Israel. Last Tuesday night, the IDF thwarted a drug smuggling operation in which smugglers attempted to run about NIS seven million worth of cocaine across the border.
Attempts to run cocaine from Egypt into Israel have recently increased significantly while attempts to smuggle hashish have occurred relatively frequently in recent months, occasionally with an exchange of fire between Israeli security forces and the smugglers.
The police declined to respond to TPS’ inquiries on the scope and magnitude of this new and worrying trend.
Israel in recent years has built a fence along the Egyptian border to block the flow of work migrants coming to the country from Africa through Egypt. The tall fence has also helped slow down the prolific smuggling trade from Egypt into Israel, mostly the work of local Bedouin tribes.
Israel has deployed Special Forces to contend with the smugglers, who often become violent when encountering Israeli interceptors.