CAIRO: Around 30 members of the same family were arrested from a neighborhood in the border town of Rafah on suspicion of smuggling solaar gas into Gaza.
According to sources in the area, 30 members of the Barahma family – part of the Barghoum tribe – were taken after security forces completely surrounded the neighborhood of Canada in Rafah all day Wednesday.
Additionally, the sources indicated that three women were also taken as some sort of “collateral until their husbands turn themselves in. They also said that one member of that particular family had assaulted a border guard and the security mission was a retaliatory gesture.
Security sources had stated that the mission was initiated to search for people convicted of crimes but have yet to serve their sentences.
Journalist and Tagammu party member Mustapha Singer said that the authorities suspected the Barahma family of smuggling Egyptian solaar gas to Gaza through tunnels beneath the border.
“Security forces have been focusing on cracking down on gas smuggling since mid-Ramadan because the profits are so high, Singer said.
Security forces had completely surrounded a neighborhood in the border town of Rafah Wednesday. Some 96 cars and 500 soldiers from different security bodies surrounded Canada in Rafah, prohibiting residents from leaving or entering. Many shops in the area closed down for the day as a result.
