Israeli military forces successfully foiled an attempt to bring drugs across the border from Egypt into Israel on Thursday.
According to an IDF statement, soldiers spotted a number of suspicious figures allegedly smuggling drugs into Israeli territory from Egypt and dispatched troops to the scene.
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Three hundred kilograms of drugs seized by Israeli forces along Egyptian border in failed smuggling attempt
(Photo: IDF)
The smugglers' vehicle began accelerating toward the soldiers who fired into the air and at the vehicle's wheels, hitting one of the smugglers in the leg and lightly injuring them. Soldiers seized more than 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of drugs worth more than NIS five million ($1.6 million).
The seized contraband was handed over to the Israel Police. Unlike recent similar incidents, the clash with the smugglers did not include an exchange of fire.
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Archive: A drug smuggling attempt along Israeli-Egyptian border, August 15, 2019
(Photo: Yoav Zitun)
Israel has built a fence along the Egyptian border in recent years to block the flow of work migrants coming to the country from Africa through Egypt. The tall fence has also been helpful in slowing 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 forces.