Border guards arrest Israeli Arab for weapons smuggling
Arabic Edition Al-Masry Al-Youm Thu, 20/10/2011 - 13:24

Egypt's security authorities on Thursday arrested an Israeli Arab
quadragenarian who was caught smuggling weapons through Egypt’s Taba border
crossing with Israel.

A security source told Al-Masry Al-Youm that Moaz Zoheir was heading to
Egypt through the border crossing when security agents grew suspicious of a
wooden box he was carrying. Searching the box, the officers found an
automatic gun, two pistol grips and 59 bullets hidden inside apertures that
were covered with plaster.

The security source added that Zoheir told interrogators that he works for a
tourism company in the Israeli city of Eilat, and that he was going to meet
a friend named Hatem Abdel Hamid, a worker at another tourism company which
promotes Egyptian-Israeli tourism and whom he said was waiting on the other
side of the crossing.

A report of the arrest was filed and prosecutors investigated the suspect.

Arms smuggling has been on the rise since Egypt’s revolution began in
January. Several arms caches have been discovered near the borders with
Israel and many weapons have been confiscated at Libya’s borders.

Translated from the Arabic Edition