Israeli forces arrested six Turkish citizens who crossed the Dead Sea from Jordan into Israel in a rubber boat overnight Saturday into Sunday.
After the boat was spotted crossing the border, four Border Police teams were dispatched to the Avnat sector and began searching the area together with IDF forces, assisted by aerial surveillance. The six were seen getting off the boat onto the shore and starting to move west into Israeli territory. Troops from the Jordan Valley Brigade and the Border Police located and arrested all six.
The suspects were unarmed. According to initial information, they entered Israel to find work and there is no concern of a security incident. The Shin Bet has joined the investigation into the circumstances of the crossing.
The incident comes as security officials report a rise in smuggling along the border with Jordan. In recent months, smuggling networks have begun using helium balloons to fly drugs across the border, after the IDF and police cracked down on smuggling by drone. Last month a shipment weighing about 100 kilograms landed in the fields of Moshav Ein Yahav in the Arava. Most balloon smuggling has so far been detected in the Arava sector, but the defense establishment is concerned the method could be used to move weapons as well.
