A gang of antiquities robbers was caught red-handed looting an archaeological site in northern Israel, the Israel Antiquities Authority disclosed on Monday
Four suspects, from the Israeli-Arab town of Kafr Kana, were arrested while trying to break into an underground space at the Horbat Binit archaeological site in the Lower Galilee over the weekend.
Inspectors from the Authority’s Robbery Prevention Unit had been monitoring the site for a week, gathering intelligence on the illegal activities. When the inspectors arrived, they found the robbers with excavation tools and two ATVs, which they used to reach the isolated site.
The suspects confessed to police interrogators making multiple previous illegal excavations at the site.