A two-year undercover operation has resulted in the arrest of some of the most high-profile gun smugglers and illegal weapons dealers in Israel, the police announced on Tuesday.
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Sixty-five suspects were arrested in raids on 25 localities across Israel, breaking up a massive gun-running network, the police said in a statement.
According to available details, some 1,600 police officers, including Border Police and special forces units, were involved in the operation, and numerous illegal weapons were seized.
The operation was made possible by a confidential informer who had been sentenced to prison for prior involvement in organized crime.
As part of the sting, the agent purchased various firearms from Arab weapons dealers, including 53 rifles from, two machine guns, two explosive devices, and large quantities of ammunition. Overall, the agent carried out 48 different purchases amounting to 4 million shekels ($1.3 million).
So far, 78 gun dealers have been indicted as a result.
Authorities believe that the majority of the illegal weapons were smuggled into Israel from Judea and Samaria, Jordan, and Lebanon, while some of the weapons are believed to have been stolen from IDF bases.
"We are fighting crime and violence in the Arab sector with every mean at our disposal," Northern District Police Commander Shimon Lavi told reporters on Tuesday.
"This is a war over the future of everyday lives and personal safety of every Israeli citizen. It's a war against criminal elements' efforts to infiltrate local authorities in an attempt to get their hands on public funds; and it's a war against the extortion of small business owners in the private sector.
"There are organizations that are trying to get their hands on a sizeable portion of the private and public economic activity. We're taking about vast sums of money and if we don't take action they will only get stronger," he continued.
"We cannot allow crime to pay. We have to forge on and increase our pressure on these criminals."
Public Security Minister Omer Barlev commended the police.
"We have defined dealing with crime and weapons on the Arab street as a major and national goal," he said in a statement.
"The results of tonight's [Monday's] operation are the fruit of a lot of hard work, determination, creativity and perseverance."
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