Shin Bet says it uncovered smuggling ring bringing weapons from Syria to Israel

The Shin Bet security agency says it has 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 carried out by the Shin Bet, Israel Police and IDF, over suspicions of involvement in a network smuggling various weapons from Syria into Israel, a joint statement says.

The security agency says that the five soldiers crossed the border into Syria near the Druze town of Hader on several occasions and brought back to Israel weapons, which were then handed over to criminal elements in northern Israel.

Among the soldiers is Master Sgt. Iyad Halabi, 45, a resident of the northern Druze village of Yarka and a member of a regional brigade in northern Israel.

The other soldiers detained in the case are named as Suheil Maadi, 21, a reservist from Maghar; Salah Hanfis, 23, a standing army soldier from Shefa-Amr; Amal Aslim, 26, a reservist from Yarka; and Yazen Salah, 21, a noncommissioned officer from Maghar.

The Shin Bet and police say their investigation revealed that several days before the suspects were detained, the smuggling ring “worked to bring in an unusually large and exceptional cache of weapons, including explosives, RPGs, assault rifles, and a large quantity of additional ammunition.”

Last month, during an overnight operation in the Hader area of southern Syria, IDF troops located dozens of weapons and detained three Syrian nationals involved in the smuggling attempts, the statement says.

The weapons and suspects were handed over to the Shin Bet, and an investigation revealed that the arms were intended to be smuggled into Israel, the agency says.

The Shin Bet says those weapons were supposed to reach Rami Abu Shaah, 49, a resident of Shefa-Amr, who was in frequent contact with Ruad Albaser, 25, one of the detained Syrian smugglers from Hader.

Tomorrow, indictments are set to be filed against all of the suspects in the case.