Police seize 11 kg of hashish and drone in foiled smuggling attempt on Route 1

Israeli police said they thwarted a drug-smuggling attempt on Monday on Route 1 near the entrance to Jerusalem, seizing about 11 kilograms of hashish and a drone that was allegedly used in the operation. The bust came during a targeted investigation by detectives from the Magan Unit in the Southern District’s Lahav 433, working with officers and detectives from the Harel station in the Jerusalem District.

According to police, the vehicle was spotted as suspicious while traveling on Route 1. Officers stopped it and found the hashish inside, along with the drone, which investigators believe was used as a smuggling tool on Israel’s eastern border.

The suspect, a man in his 50s from the Ar'arat al-Naqab area, was arrested and taken for questioning by the Magan Unit in the Southern District. Police said he is expected to be brought before the Beersheba Magistrate’s Court later for a remand extension hearing.

The operation was carried out as part of broader police efforts ordered in recent weeks by Police Commissioner Danny Levy and Southern District Commander Maj. Gen. Haim Bublil to prevent drug and weapons smuggling near Israel’s borders. The Southern District said it continues to use operational, intelligence and investigative means to identify and disrupt smuggling networks inside Israel and beyond its borders.