The fence on the Israel-Egypt border. Photo: Idobi via Wikimedia Commons.

The IDF is bolstering its anti-drug smuggling efforts on the border with Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, the Hebrew news site Walla reported on Thursday.

Part of the reason for this move, the report said, was a concern that ISIS-affiliated militants in Sinai could use drug-smuggling routes to carry out attacks against IDF troops or Israeli communities adjacent to the border.

Millions of shekels are being invested in a number of new measures, including the purchase of high-speed all-terrain vehicles that can keep up with those owned by drug smuggling gangs in the region, according to the report.

In 2013, Israel completed the construction of an around 150-mile long fence along its border with Egypt, with the goal of curbing terrorist infiltrations, illegal migration and drugs and weapons smuggling. Earlier this year, Israel announced it had finished new upgrades to the fence.

There have been a number of exchanges of fire on the border in recent years between drug smugglers and Israeli soldiers.