(A7) A determined operation by officers from the Ariel Police Station in the Judea and Samaria District, together with inspectors from the Ministry of Defense’s Crossings Authority and Israel Border Police fighters, led on Monday evening to the exposure of an unusual and highly dangerous smuggling attempt on Highway 5.

During a routine inspection at the Cross-Shomron checkpoint, the forces stopped a garbage collection truck – and were shocked to find no fewer than 68 illegal Palestinian Arab residents inside it.

Documentation from the moment of the arrest shows dozens of Palestinian Arabs who had been placed inside the truck’s compaction container, sitting on top of one another in horrific overcrowding.

When the police opened the truck, the illegal workers began emerging one by one, with garbage falling from the container alongside them. According to the police, the group was en route to various destinations inside Israeli cities.

The driver, a resident of Kafr Qasim in his 30s, was arrested at the scene. An initial investigation revealed that the driver did not even possess an appropriate driving license.