Israelis seize 200 kg of drugs at border in 18 months
Israeli security forces over the last 18 months have confiscated more than 200 kilograms of illicit drugs being smuggled across the Lebanese border, according to Israeli military documents released on Sunday.
Israeli military troops and the Israel police officers have intercepted 188.6kg of heroine, 10kg of cocaine and 34g of hashish, according to the military documents revealed on Sunday.
According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, the Israeli army”s Northern Command documents indicate that 22 Lebanon-to-Israel drug-smuggling attempts were halted since the beginning of 2008. Twenty-nine people were arrested as result of these interceptions, and a total of $950,000 seized.
"In one of those attempts, a smuggler even opened fire on pursuing the Israeli Military soldiers," Haaretz said. According to the daily, surveillance material shows money bags being thrown from Israel over the Lebanese border, and drug packages hurled in return. The Israeli military”s Northern Command said that while smugglings may not have been treated with the utmost earnestness in the past, a change in policy has brought increased efforts at the border. "Besides the fact that these smugglings represent an attempt by Hizbullah to flood Israel with narcotics, the organization also views these missions as ways to feel how breached the border is," the Israeli army said.