Army says five drug smugglers killed on border with Syria

AMMAN — The Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF) said border guards stationed on the eastern borders with Syria foiled an attempt to "large" quantities of narcotics into the Kingdom.

 JAF source said that Eastern Military Zone personnel applied rules of engagement with smugglers and killed five of them and injured four others in the operation at dawn on Sunday, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The source said that large quantities of illicit drugs were seized and handed over to the relevant authorities.

The army source reaffirmed JAF's resolve to deal with firmness with any threat to Jordan's national security.

The army has reported several drug smuggling attempts on the Kingdom's north-eastern borders with conflict-torn Syria, with JAF reported some incidents of smugglers opening fire at border guards in an attempt to enter the Kingdom "by force".

The army unveiled the largest operation in January 2022 when it announced that it had killed 27 infiltrators as they tried to smuggle “large amounts” of narcotics from Syria into the Kingdom. The army said that the operation in late January came after the directives of the JAF chairman to change the rules of engagement. 

According to JAF figures, a total of 194 smuggling and infiltration attempts have been recorded during the January-August period of 2023.

The army said that border guards on the north-eastern border with Syria have also dealt with 88 smuggling attempts using drones that carried narcotics and explosives.

In 2022, the army said that it dealt with 383 smuggling and infiltration attempts that also resulted in the seizure of large quantities of narcotics and weapons.

JAF said that 361 smuggling attempts from Syria were foiled and about 15.5 million narcotic pills were seized in 2021.

In the previous year, more than 130 smuggling attempts from Syria in 2020 were foiled and about 132 million amphetamine pills and 15,000 sheets of hashish seized, it said.

During a landmark meeting in Amman on May 1, 2023, Syria agreed to take effective measures towards curbing drug trafficking across its southern borders with Jordan. 

The pledge came at a meeting in Amman of foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq and Jordan, also attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad. 

Jordan, which shares a 378 kilometre-long border with Syria, has been warning of flourishing drugs trade in the northern neighbour, posing cross-border threats to the kingdom, the region, and the rest of the world.

According to studies conducted by international think tanks, Syria has transformed into the world's foremost narco-state, especially in manufacturing Captagon.