Six Israeli Arabs from a village on the Israel-Lebanon border were indicted Thursday on charges of espionage, contact with a foreign agent and other offenses allegedly linking them to Hezbollah and cross-border drug and arms smuggling.

The investigation into the case began at the end of July, after a local farmer found a bag containing two explosive charges near Metula, a northern Israeli city on the border with Lebanon.

Initial findings indicated that the explosives bore the hallmarks of the Lebanese-based Hezbollah militia, Israel Police said. That confirmed the assessment of Israel's defense establishment.

Open gallery view An archive photo from May 2013 shows an Israeli soldier patrolling along Israel's border with Lebanon in the town of Metula. Credit: AFP

The explosives were likely intended for an attack against Israelis, the army said at the time.

Although 10 suspects were arrested in the case, only seven have been indicted, all from the village of Ghajar. They are accused of conveying information for purposes of espionage, assisting an enemy during wartime, importing and exporting weapons and drugs, contact with a foreign agent, conspiracy to commit a crime and the destruction of evidence.

Ghajar is a divided village straddling the Israel-Lebanon border, with its northern part inside Lebanon. The residents of both parts of ther village are Israeli citizens. Israel captured the Lebanese part during its 2006 war against Hezbollah militants, and has since built a security fence to prevent militants from entering the enclave.

Three of those charged, Youssef, Samir and Diab Kahamuz, are brothers, the sons of Sa’ad Kahamuz, a drug dealer who fled to Lebanon in 2006. Another of the suspects is a relative for theirs.

According to the charge sheet, Sa’ad Kahamuz suggested that his son Diab use drug-smuggling routes to bring explosive material into Israel. Diab allegedly agreed to the plan and contacted Hezbollah about transferring explosives over the border.

The explosives were thrown over the border fence in May and hidden by Diab in grove near Metula, while awating orders regarding the target. He was subsequently instructed to plant the bombs at major hitchhiking stops in Haifa, according to the indictment.

Diab and his brother Youssef allegedlt toured the city in search of suitable sites to plant the bombs, but failed to find appropriate locations, in part due to concern that the sites were monitored by security cameras.

The indictment further alleges that Diab proposed placing the explosives at the the entrance to Tur'an, near Golani Junction in the Galilee, a major gathering point for Israeli soldiers. After surveying the spot, he is said to have returned to where he hid the pipe bombs, but did not find them.

According to the Shin Bet security service, Dian was due to take delivery of a second consignment of explosives in August.

Diab's brothers, Youssef and Samir, are alleged to have burned the computer that Diab used to communicate with Hezbollah after Diab's arrest.

The explosives had the potential to cause a powerful explosion, police said. They found digital images of possible attack sites, including army bases, on the smartphones and computers of the accused. The images had allegedly been sent to Hezbollah.

Traditional drug smuggling routes from Lebanon are increasingly being used for the passage of explosives into Israel, according ot the Shin Bet.

Several drug dealers in northern Israel were arrested in 2012 for smuggling 20 kilograms of C-4 explosive from Lebanon to Israel, under the direction of Hezbollah. The explosives were smuggled in a sports bag by a teenager near Ghajar.