Lion cubs and monkeys–Oh my! No, this is not the story of the wonderful land of Oz. We’re talking about wild animals being smuggled into Israel by drone–yes, you read that right.
In a weeks-long mission, begun in early March, to uncover an exotic animal smuggling ring, Israeli authorities found 16 monkeys and four lion cubs in the Negev, central Israel and the north, according to The Times of Israel. Earlier this week, the Israeli Army Radio reported that police suspect agricultural drones capable of carrying up to 154 pounds (70 kilograms) smuggled all of the wild animals from Egypt and Jordan.
Police launched the investigation after a video surfaced in early March on social media of people driving in the Negev with a lion cub in a passenger’s lap and a monkey chained to the car’s dashboard. Around the same time, videos of lion cubs playing in Israel were also circulating, according to Ynet News. It is unclear whether the people in the videos were customers or part of the smuggling operation.
This month, police rescued a lion cub in the Bedouin town of Bir Hadaj, one of the four cubs found. The police who ran the search reported that they found agricultural drones in almost every home they inspected in the town. Ten of the 16 monkeys were also located in the Negev near Bir Hadaj. Others were rescued in the nearby cities of Rahat, Kibbutz Mashabei Sadeh and Be’er Sheva, with some animals roaming open fields, stuck in pits or locked and chained in cages in private residences, according to Haaretz. Monkeys were also found in Tel Sheva, Lod, Ramat Gan and a farm near Daburiyya. The other lion cubs were rescued from Kafr Qasim, in central Israel and the Negev region. It is unclear why the animals are being smuggled into Israel or for what purpose, but authorities believe the animals have been brought into the country recently due to their young ages.
Smuggling wild animals into Israel is not unheard of. Back in 2023, a lion cub nicknamed Abu Malek was smuggled into the country. Border police opened an investigation after multiple videos of the cub were posted on social media. The videos showed the cub being moved around Israel and passed between different people. Border police and the INPA found the cub during a raid of an apartment in central Israel. After his rescue, the cub was transferred to a wildlife sanctuary in South Africa where he was renamed Zion-Neev.
“Unfortunately, quite a few animals are smuggled into Israel and there is an extensive trade in them,” said Ben Rosenberg, Director of the Animal and Plant Protection Division in the Enforcement Division of the Nature and Parks Authority, to The Jerusalem Post in 2023, in response to an international animal trafficking operation where over 900 people were arrested worldwide. “What we catch is a small part of all the smuggling. The volumes we are talking about are large and we have a limited team that is weak in the field, but we try to maximize our capabilities through a variety of means.”
The Wildlife Protection Law of 1955, enacted in Israel, implements the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), prohibits trading, possessing or transporting protected species without a permit from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. The INPA is concerned that the smuggled animals may carry diseases such as tuberculosis or rabies even if they appear to be healthy. One of the monkeys that was found in Tel Sheva died from tetanus due to the conditions it was held in. The organization calls on individuals who may have come into contact with the animals to get tested. The monkeys and lion cubs that have been rescued have been taken to the Monkey Shelter and the Hai Park zoo in Kiryat Motzkin for further treatment and testing.
The Israeli Army Radio reports that members of the gang allegedly responsible for smuggling the animals, along with weapons and drugs, into the country have been arrested. More information on the gang has not been released.
Though smuggling operations have typically been carried out by foot or in motor vehicles, drones are an emerging way smugglers are moving contraband in and out of the country. Over the last decade, small drones were used to smuggle drugs into Israel. In 2023, large agricultural drones capable of carrying heavy items were used to smuggle drugs and weapons, and now exotic animals, according to a police report that said about 200 firearms were confiscated after being smuggled across the borders with Egypt and Jordan. Hundreds more were confiscated the next year and the trajectory remains unchanged into 2025.