Drug smuggler shot to death on border

According to initial details, the three were smuggling drugs, apparently by moving sacks to the other side of the border in order for other people to collect them.

The forces began chasing the cell and called on its members to stop. When they were ignored, they fired at the lower part of the men's bodies, according to procedures. Several sacks containing drugs were found at the scene of the incident and were taken for examination.

After being shot, the three men were evacuated by helicopter to the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba. One of the men was seriously hurt in the stomach, while the other suffered severe wounds to his leg.

Yoram Snir, head of the Emergency Room, told Ynet that "the two men lost a lot of blood and are both conscious. They are now being treated in the operation room."

An IDF official said following the incident, "These were not innocent infiltrators, but a cell attempting to smuggle drugs, which may have even done this successfully in the past."

Another military official noted that any attempt to infiltrate Israel through the Egyptian border is viewed as an attempt to carry out a terror attack, until proven otherwise. "The terror organizations often use the same methods used by criminal elements in order to try and smuggle terrorists and weapons into Israel."

Breached border

The smuggling industry on the southern border has been active for years, as gangs transfer drugs, refugees from Africa, prostitutes and weapons.

In June, the Beersheba District Court sentenced former Border Guard operations officer Badi Bisan to eight and a half years in prison and 18 months of probation for smuggling drugs, fraud, and breach of trust between the years 2005-2007.

Bisan's partner in crime, Salem Abu-Ravis – a Bedouin resident of the Negev – was sentenced to four and a half years in prison and one year probation.  

The judges determined that Bisan, a 33-year old resident of the Druze village of Jatt, was convicted of exploiting sensitive security information that he received while on the job. The judges emphasized the gravity of his crimes, seeing as his office, as an officer in the Border Guard, was to help maintain the security of Israel's borders.

The number of drug trafficking and smuggling cases opened in Israel in 2008 rose by 40% in 2008 compared to last year. The data were presented to Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen last week in a National Police Headquarters discussion on the special units that have been set up in recent years aimed at combating the smuggling of drugs through Israel's borders.

According to the data, during 2008 the Lebanon border drug unit confiscated over 122 kilograms (269 pounds) of heroin, some 23 kg (50 pounds) of hashish and some 5 kg (11 pounds) of cocaine.

The southern border drug unit confiscated 115 kg (253 pounds) of several different drugs, and just two days ago, on Saturday, 82 kg (180 pounds) of heroin were found in one of the unit's special operations, along with some 80,000 tablets of various kinds of amphetamines.

Drugs have also been coming in from the skies, and this year 1.4 kg (3 pounds) of cocaine were found at Ben Gurion International Airport.

In the eastern Arava region, a Border Guard unit confiscated 400 kg (881 pounds) of marijuana, some 790 kg (1,741 pounds) of hashish and 36 kg (79 pounds) of heroin).