AL-ARISH: The Egyptian authorities caught a Palestinian man trying to smuggle crocodiles, kangaroos and squirrels into the Gaza Strip on Friday, a security official said.
Emad Khalil Hassan, 48, was caught with two crocodiles, eight squirrels and two kangaroos in his car near the town of Al-Arish, the official told AFP.
Hassan, who lives in Egypt, told police he had been commissioned to take the animals into the Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas since June 2007.
The animals have been confiscated and are now in Al-Arish zoo, the official said.
Also in Al-Arish, Israel on Friday handed over to Egypt a Bedouin who was arrested for smuggling more than a month ago, a security official told AFP.
Abdallah Eweid Suleiman, 17, was caught smuggling cigarettes into Israel after sneaking across the border from the Sinai peninsula, the official said.
Suleiman will now face prosecution in Egypt, he added.
The 250-kilometer Egyptian-Israeli frontier has become a major transit route for migrants, asylum-seekers and drug smugglers.
Dozens of migrants have been arrested in recent months as Egyptian police try to halt the constant stream into Israel. Several have been killed while trying to make the crossing. -AFP
