Israeli police arrested dozens of suspects this morning in a large-scale operation following a prolonged undercover investigation by a Bedouin agent from the Lahav 433 unit, according to N12. The suspects are charged with illegal arms and drug trafficking.
Israeli police this morning arrested dozens of suspects in a nationwide operation, charging them with illegal arms and drug trafficking, following a prolonged undercover operation by a Bedouin agent from the Lahav 433 unit, according to N12. The new charges, reported by N12, specify the legal basis for the arrests, updating earlier reports that had described the operation as targeting suspects on suspicion of those offenses.
The Zioneer's thread on this operation began at 07:31 Jerusalem Monday, when police confirmed a large-scale arrest operation targeting illegal weapons trafficking across dozens of locations. Within minutes, reports from N12 and ynet added that the operation was enabled by a Bedouin undercover agent who had infiltrated criminal circles. By 07:31, the undercover agent was identified by police as 'The Wanderer' — a Bedouin operative from the elite Lahav 433 unit who operated for months, leading to the arrest of dozens of suspects including 20 major crime targets, according to i24NEWS and N12. The operation expanded to include drug trafficking, with hundreds of officers deployed, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir pledged continued support.
The Zioneer has previously reported on similar undercover operations. In a separate bulletin published at 08:29 Jerusalem, The Zioneer detailed the unveiling of the 'The Wanderer' agent. Additionally, The Zioneer reported on another case in which an undercover agent posing as a business owner exposed a Bedouin protection racket in Be'er Sheva, leading to dozens of arrests in early July 2026.
The exact number of suspects arrested and the specific locations of the raids have not been released by police. The extent to which the charges encompass all those arrested also remains unclear.
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Source and signal
- Internal intake