‘Customs agents intercept drug shipment of 20m pills from India’

AMMAN — Jordan Customs Department (JCD) agents on Tuesday foiled an attempt to smuggle over 20 million illegal pills into the Kingdom at the Queen Alia International Airport, the JCD said.

The JCD identified the narcotics as diphenoxylate pills, an opioid used to treat diarrhoea which can cause euphoria when taken in high doses, according to the Transnational Institute. 

The drugs arrived at the airport from India as transit in order to be exported to a neighbouring country or to distribute in the Kingdom, the JCD said in a statement, adding that customs officers found the drugs when inspecting a shipment of pharmaceutical products. 

The customs department said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times on Wednesday that the drug is not registered in Jordan and it acts like morphine, adding the JCD seized the shipment and referred it to the concerned authorities.

An official at the customs department told The Jordan Times that Tuesday’s smuggling attempt was one of the largest shipments to come to Jordan, adding that JCD cadres have previously foiled similar or even larger quantities. 

Last week, Anti-Narcotics Department personnel foiled an attempt to smuggle over 4 million illegal narcotic pills through the Aqaba port and arrested several suspects.