Last Saturday, the Israeli army fell victim to a swift and agile robbery carried out by unknown individuals, who left with over 20,000 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition for the American-made M-16 rifle, amounting to over $60,000 in potential sales, as the black market price ranges between $3 to $4 per round. The cargo was in boxes transported by a truck belonging to the "Tzeelim" military base in the Negev desert. When the truck stopped at a traffic light about 4 kilometers away from the base, the robbers struck and stole its contents.
Despite the presence of public surveillance cameras and infrastructures that generally protect military transport, the thieves were able to easily disappear from the vicinity of "Tzeelim," which is described as the largest training base for ground forces in the army. The army acknowledged the theft yesterday, Sunday, and allowed the news to be published, stating that the commander of the southern region, Amir Cohen, "ordered the formation of a special investigative team in cooperation with various security agencies" to uncover the details and circumstances of the robbery, which is not unprecedented as similar thefts have occurred before.
