Police foiled an attempt by 18 migrants to cross into Israel through Sinai on Sunday.
“Security officers noticed the migrants as they tried to cross the border,” a security source told the German news agency DPA, adding that they stopped after warning shots were fired and were then arrested.
The source added that 10 of the immigrants are Sudanese and eight are from Ethiopia. They told investigators they paid US$1500 per immigrant to smugglers who promised to help them enter Israel, where they would be able to find jobs.
The migrants are currently being held in Arish prison, and the Sudanese and Ethiopian consulates in Cairo have been notified.
African migrants frequently pay smugglers to help them enter Israel illegally through the Sinai peninsula. Egyptian security forces have been criticized for multiple incidents in which African migrants at the Israel-Egypt border were shot and killed.
