Four soldiers charged with trafficking weapons from Syria into Israel

Military prosecutors filed indictments yesterday against four soldiers on suspicion of trafficking weapons from Syria into Israel, and another two are set to be charged early next week, the IDF confirms.

Earlier this week, the Shin Bet security agency, IDF, and police announced that they had uncovered a weapons smuggling ring in northern Israel, arresting 12 suspects — five IDF soldiers in the standing army and reserves, four Israeli civilians, and three Syrian nationals. The suspects were detained in the past month following an investigation into a network smuggling various weapons from Syria into Israel.

On Thursday, indictments were filed against the three Syrian and four Israeli civilians — all members of the Druze community — at the Nazareth District Court.

In response to a query by The Times of Israel, the IDF confirms that four of the five detained soldiers were charged on Friday by the Military Prosecution at a military court.

Early next week, the IDF says two more soldiers are set to be charged — one of whom is held, while the other is under house arrest and was not among the 12 initially arrested in the case.

The investigation into the smuggling ring was carried out jointly by the Shin Bet, the police’s International Crime Investigations Unit, and the IDF’s Military Police Investigatory Unit, in coordination with the State Attorney’s Office and Military Prosecution.

According to the Shin Bet, the soldiers crossed the border into Syria near the Druze town of Hader on several occasions and brought back weapons that were then handed over to criminal elements in northern Israel. Before they were arrested, the security agency said they “worked to bring in an unusually large and exceptional cache of weapons, including explosives, RPGs, assault rifles, and a large quantity of additional ammunition.”