According to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces, Israeli security officers stopped an effort to smuggle narcotics into Israel from Egypt on Sunday, capturing 200 kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated 4 million shekels ($1.2 million).

According to the statement, spotters for the IDF noticed "a number of suspects" attempting to cross the border into Israeli territory and summoned a force to the area. The IDF stated that the drugs were turned over to the Israel Police.

The military described the operation as the latest in a series of "ongoing efforts by the IDF and Israeli security forces to foil drug smuggling attempts along the Egyptian border."

Previously the province of police, the IDF has grown increasingly involved in such instances in recent years out of worry that if drug smugglers demonstrate a reliable capacity to cross the border, terrorists will quickly follow.

The IDF is also actively involved in stopping attempts at drug smuggling from Lebanon. On March 20, the IDF reported that it had captured two Arab Israeli operatives accused of smuggling and membership in Hezbollah's terrorist infrastructure in collaboration with police and other authorities.