With simple and cheap technology: the new smuggling method
Smuggling organizations have switched to using helium balloons as a new smuggling method that bypasses electronic defense systems on Israel's borders. The method is based on meteorological planning, GPS, and a simple release mechanism. This week, a drug shipment of about 100 kg landed in Moshav Ein Yahav. The Regavim movement warns of a strategic risk.
Smuggling organizations have increasingly begun using helium balloons to transport illicit goods into Israel, bypassing electronic defense systems on the southern borders. The new method, described as simple and cheap, relies on calculating wind direction, attaching a GPS component to the payload, and a release mechanism based on a Sabbath clock and a heating coil that burns the connecting rope. Existing electronic systems, calibrated for drone frequencies, are not designed to intercept passive balloons. The assessment in the Southern Command is that the use will soon expand to the Egyptian border as well. This week, an unusually large drug shipment of about 100 kilograms landed in the agricultural fields of Moshav Ein Yahav. The Regavim movement warned of a severe strategic risk and called for a root-cause treatment including focusing on crime organization leaders, financial investigations, and harsher penalties.