LONDON: Jordanian authorities shot down a drone laden with crystal meth making its way from Syria, Jordan’s Armed Forces said in a statement on Monday.
In the ninth incident of its kind this year, Jordanian border guards and the counternarcotics officials thwarted the drone’s attempt to smuggle the drugs through Jordan’s northern border.
With war-torn Syria emerging as a major center for a lucrative drug trade, Jordan has become a primary transit route to the oil-rich Gulf states for the Syrian-manufactured amphetamine, Captagon.
“The Jordanian Armed Forces continue to deal with force and commitment with any threat on the border and any attempts to destabilize the country and terrorize its citizens,” said a Jordanian military source, according to the army’s statement.
Across its 375 km desert border with Syria, Jordan has seen hundreds of attempts to smuggle narcotics since the civil war erupted in Syria in 2011. Last month alone, three drug-laden drones flying from Syria were intercepted by the Jordanian authorities.
Jordanian authorities have accused members of the Syrian regime and allied Iranian militias of involvement in smuggling operations across the border.
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