Attempt to smuggle cell phones into security prison via drone thwarted by police
Two suspects taken for questioning, and unmanned aerial vehicle impounded; security services said to be investigating terror link to incident
Police announced Saturday that they prevented an attempt to smuggle cell phones into a security prison in the south of the country.
In a statement, they said that it was part of a planned operation when they spotted the drone in the skies above the facility.
A 56-year-old man was arrested after a police chase on foot, during which he was said to have tossed a number of phones he planned to fly into the prison. A 30-year-old woman was also arrested.
The two suspects, both residents of the central Israel town of Lod, were taken for questioning and the drone, phones and cash were impounded.
Channel 10 news reported that “written evidence with intelligence value” was also seized.
The network also says the incident took place at the Nafha Prison and that police were examining whether terrorists were involved in the attempt.
Last year guards caught a 5-year-old boy smuggling cellphones and SIM cards to security prisoners at the Ketziot Prison in southern Israel, Hebrew media reported.
Last January police caught a man “red-handed” as he tried to smuggle cellphones and money to a prisoner serving a life sentence for national security crimes.
Basel Ghattas, a former MK, was jailed for smuggling cellphones to security prisoners while he was serving as a lawmaker for the Joint (Arab) List party. Footage from a Prisons Service surveillance camera showed the Arab lawmaker passing envelopes to prisoners at the Ketziot Prison in the south.
The Beersheba Magistrate’s Court accepted a plea bargain reached between state prosecutors and Ghattas, who was convicted of exploiting his position to sneak cellphones and notes to convicted Palestinian terrorists.
