Israeli police arrested two Bedouin cousins, aged 16 and 20 from Al-Azazma, on suspicion of smuggling 45 kg of hashish into Egypt via drone. For the first time in the Southern District, they were also investigated under a new penal code section targeting cross-border sovereignty violations, carrying up to nine years in prison.
Israeli police in the Southern District arrested two Bedouin cousins, aged 16 and 20, from the Al-Azazma clan about two weeks ago on suspicion of smuggling 45 kg of hashish into Egypt using a drone. According to police reports, the suspects flew a drone back and forth across the border multiple times on the same day. After a pursuit in the field, officers seized the drone, its controllers, and mobile phones.
In a first for the Southern District, the suspects were also investigated under Section 122A of the Penal Code — a recently enacted offense targeting cross-border sovereignty violations ("harm to state sovereignty at the borders"), carrying a sentence of up to nine years. The prosecutor's office is expected to file an indictment on Tuesday.
The drone-smuggling phenomenon has been a persistent challenge along Israel's borders. As The Zioneer has previously reported, an estimated 170 drones were smuggled from Israel into Gaza by Bedouin gangs over 18 months, and smuggling drones have been documented landing at clan compounds in northern Gaza.
2 developments
- DevelopingReport: 170 drones smuggled from Israel into Gaza by Bedouin gangs over 18 months
- StrongSecond report: Two Israeli women arrested in Poland on drug-smuggling suspicion
- StrongBorder Police raid Deir Abu Da'if, seize 175 kg of illegal fertilizer, arrest suspect
- DevelopingReport exposes drug and weapons smuggling drone landings at clan compound in northern Gaza
Source and signal
A single-sourced dispatch is never rated Confirmed or Strong. Its Signal strengthens only when a second, independent source corroborates it.
- Internal intake