Gun smugglers found with 20-year-old stolen weapon
An inspection of the vehicle found a Smith & Wesson pistol that had been stolen from an Israeli citizen's home in 2000.
By AARON REICHA Smith & Wesson handgun stolen from an Israeli citizen 20 years ago was found by border crossing officials in the possession of two attempted smugglers.(photo credit: DEFENSE MINISTRY)
Border crossing officials on Sunday prevented two people from smuggling a gun into Israel from the West Bank at a border crossing in the south Hebron hills, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.The two attempted smugglers were residents of Kassifa, aged 18 and 21, who came from the Palestinian Authority-administered West Bank. An inspection of their vehicle found a Smith & Wesson pistol that had been stolen from the home of an Israeli citizen in 2000.Both suspects were taken in for questioning.This is the third such weapon seizure to happen in the last three days. Last weekend, Defense Ministry inspectors stopped two attempts at smuggling weapons. The first attempt last Thursday saw an Arab-Israeli from Sakhlin and a Palestinian resident of Jenin attempt to smuggle 10,000 rounds of 5.56 mm rifle ammunition in 10 IDF boxes through the Reihan crossing, though the ammunition was later confiscated.The second attempt saw border crossing security officials prevent the smuggling of an additional 300 rounds of rifle ammunition.
