LONDON: Jordanian authorities foiled four separate attempts to smuggle about 500,000 narcotic pills on Wednesday across the country’s eastern border with Syria and Iraq. Border Guard units intercepted guided balloons that smugglers used to transport the drugs into Jordanian territory. The Eastern Military Zone conducted the operation in coordination with the Anti-Narcotics Department, according to the Jordan News Agency. Guided balloons are an unconventional method increasingly used by smugglers to transport narcotics across the border. The Jordan Armed Forces said that the tactic would not deter its units from fighting cross-border drug trafficking. Jordan typically announces several monthly interceptions of drug smuggling or infiltration attempts through its borders, mainly with Syria and Iraq. Criminal networks have long attempted to exploit Jordan’s geographic location in the heart of the Middle East as a transit point for smuggling drugs that are mainly bound for Gulf countries.