IDF Reservist Caught With 10 Kilos of Captagon in Gaza

An active duty IDF reservist, a tracker in his 30s, was apprehended in the Gaza Strip carrying approximately 10 kilograms of the illicit drug Captagon. The substance is suspected to have been intended for smuggling into the Gaza Strip. The soldier, a resident of Tel Sheva, was found with the drugs in a bag while inside an IDF patrol vehicle. The arrest was made by the Negev District Special Patrol Unit of the Israel Police, in cooperation with the IDF and the Shin Bet, as part of an operation to thwart drug smuggling. The IDF is aware of the incident, which is currently being managed by the police. The soldier was taken for questioning, and police requested his detention be extended until Thursday. The investigation is ongoing. This incident follows a similar event in February, when soldiers from the Bedouin Reconnaissance Battalion were suspected of smuggling drugs and cigarettes into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing. At that time, due to the serious suspicions, the army relocated the battalion from the Kerem Shalom area to the nearby Kissufim sector, removing them from responsibility for the crossing.