The Jordanian army has announced the successful thwarting of an attempted drug smuggling operation along its border with Syria, injuring several smugglers in the process. The incident marks the latest in a series of efforts by Jordanian forces to curb the illegal flow of narcotics and weapons into the kingdom.
An official military source from the General Command of the Jordanian Armed Forces stated that the Eastern Military District, in coordination with military security services and the Anti-Narcotics Administration, intercepted the smugglers as they tried to infiltrate Jordanian territory. The source confirmed that “the clash resulted in the injury of a number of smugglers, which led to their retreat deep into Syria.” The confiscated narcotics were handed over to the relevant authorities for further investigation.
“The Jordanian Armed Forces are fully committed to utilizing all available resources to strike with an iron fist anyone who attempts to compromise Jordanian national security,” the military source added, reflecting the kingdom’s ongoing resolve to combat the growing narcotics threat.
This operation is part of Jordan’s broader efforts to tackle drug smuggling, a problem that has intensified due to the ongoing conflict in Syria. Jordanian officials and their Western allies have long accused Iranian-backed militias, particularly Hezbollah, of being the masterminds behind these operations. Southern Syria, now under the control of the Assad regime and its allies, has reportedly become a hub for drug production and smuggling, with narcotics being trafficked through Jordan to reach the Arabian Gulf and beyond.
The Jordanian Public Security Directorate recently reported that anti-drug teams had successfully foiled the smuggling of 600,000 narcotic pills in two separate operations. In one case, security forces seized 400,000 pills and arrested two individuals attempting to smuggle the drugs into Jordan. In another operation in Zarqa Governorate, authorities confiscated 200,000 pills hidden in a cargo vehicle destined for a neighboring country.
The directorate’s spokesperson, Amer al-Sartawi, emphasized the kingdom’s ongoing efforts to combat the drug trade, highlighting recent security campaigns in the Mafraq and Northern Badia regions near the Syrian border. These operations have led to the arrest of several high-profile suspects, including individuals classified as “very dangerous.”
Jordanian authorities have been increasingly vigilant in their efforts to disrupt the narcotics trade, which poses a significant threat to the country’s stability. The army has previously thwarted numerous smuggling attempts, including those involving drones carrying weapons, explosives, and narcotics.
Despite Jordan’s normalization with Assad last year and robust security measures, the scale of the drug trade remains a serious concern. The Assad regime has emerged as the largest producer and exporter of synthetic drugs in the region, with narcotics continuing to flood neighboring countries despite normalization and extensive interdiction efforts. Between 2016 and 2022, more than 1,200 drug shipments were seized across the Middle East, according to the Observatory of Political and Economic Networks.
