LONDON: Jordanian authorities thwarted six drug smuggling attempts on Wednesday along its border with Syria and Iraq, secured by the Eastern Military Zone of the Jordan Armed Forces.
Security forces intercepted electronically guided balloons carrying narcotics, launched simultaneously by criminals to distract border guard units in an attempt to evade surveillance, according to the Petra news agency.
The Jordan Armed Forces reaffirmed its commitment to preventing the smuggling and infiltration of narcotics and to protecting national security, Petra added.
Jordan is known as a transit point for smuggling drugs that are typically bound for the Gulf countries from Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.
Smugglers are increasingly using drones and balloons, which are guided by basic devices, to transport narcotics into Jordan from neighboring countries.
In early April, authorities intercepted ten attempts to smuggle more than 1.5 million narcotic pills and 100 blocks of hashish.
