Jordan arrests major drug smuggling suspect in wave of police operations

Arrest made in border area with Syria, the main source of narcotics flows in the Levant

Jordanian soldiers patrol near the eastern Jordan-Syria border, in Mafraq governorate. AP Photo

Jordanian security forces have arrested a major drug smuggler in the north of the kingdom, police said, in the latest development of a drug war on the country's border with Syria.

Authorities last year toughened their response to increased flows of narcotics from areas controlled by the Syrian military and pro-Iranian militias in southern Syria. Jordan's border military units have been using more force against smugglers, and drug busts in the kingdom have also increased.

A police spokesman said that in the last few days, and after “intelligence efforts that lasted for months”, the suspected dealer was caught in northern Badia.

“A raid and investigation team managed to overrun and arrest a person who is considered to be one of the most dangerous drug smugglers in the northern Badia,” the spokesman said late on Monday.

He said 22,000 illicit pills and 75 pouches of hashish were seized in the raid.

A main component of the drug trade in the Levant is the amphetamine known as Captagon, which is cheap to produce and has among the highest returns in global narcotics trade.

Arab security officials say that Captagon in the Middle East is mainly manufactured in and around Damascus, before being transported to Jordan and then to the inner Arabian Peninsula.

Curbing the smuggling has been linked to a drive by Jordan in the last two years to improve ties with President Bashar Al Assad, after a surge in smuggling affected Jordan's ties with Saudi Arabia.

But Jordanian officials last year started openly blaming the Syrian military and pro-Iranian militias for propagating the Captagon flows, while pursuing the rapprochement with Mr Assad.

Drugs seized after recent raids across the kingdom, including in the northern Badia region on the border with Syria.

For decades Jordan has been a consumer and conduit for hashish trade from Hezbollah-run areas in Lebanon's Bekaa valley.

The much more profitable Captagon became a major security problem for Jordan after the Syrian military was allowed in 2018 to recapture southern Syria from rebels supported by Jordan and other Arab countries.

The arrangement was in accordance with a deal between Russia — the main power supporting the Syrian regime — the US and Israel.

The border agreement was concluded after Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war allowed the regime and other pro-Iranian forces to recapture large areas of territory around Damascus and in the north of the country from Sunni groups opposed to the Alawite-dominated regime in Damascus.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, trafficking in amphetamines has increased in the Middle East in recent years. Photo: Dubai Customs

Specially trained K-9 units are often used by border forces to intercept shipments. EPA

Experts believe the amount intercepted accounts for only around a tenth of the total quantity of pills being smuggled out of places like Syria and Jordan. EPA

Dubai Customs thwarted 398 attempts to smuggle drugs into the city in the first three months of this year. Photo: Dubai Customs

Captagon pills on display after being seized in Greece in 2019. EPA

Captagon became synonymous with the Syrian Civil War. AFP

The small, off-white pills have quickly become one of the most widely consumed drugs in the Middle East. EPA

Millions of Captagon pills are seized around the world each year. EPA

Captagon pills on display after a major interception of a shipment in 2009. Nicole Hill / The National

Customs officers say Captagon smugglers prefer to use sea ports rather than airports because of the size of shipping containers, enabling them to conceal larger quantities of drugs. Photo: Dubai Customs

The Jordanian police spokesman said another drug dealer in northern Badia had been arrested in raids across the kingdom in recent days, as well as a suspect in the nearby district of Ramtha, where a border crossing between Jordan and Syria has been closed for years.

In another raid, a suspected dealer was caught as he was on a drug run in the governorate of Karak, south of Amman. He was carrying 1kg of crystal meth, or methamphetamine, another dangerous synthetic drug, the spokesman said.

In Amman five more drug dealers were arrested, he said, including one who had 1kg of cocaine. An Amman apartment where smugglers operated from was also raided.