The Jordanian army announced on Friday that it thwarted a major drug smuggling operation from Syria.
In a statement, it said two smugglers were killed and others wounded in the operation. Some smugglers managed to flee back to Syria.
The army seized the drugs and weapons in possession of the smugglers.
Asharq Al-Awsat learned that the Jordanian authorities will release some of the confessions of Syrian smugglers it had detained in late 2023.
They were arrested during a clash that led to the arrest of nine smugglers along the northeastern border.
Jordanian sources had previously told Asharq Al-Awsat that smuggling gangs active in southern Syria were cooperating with Jordanian cells to deliver illicit material to the eastern Ruwaished region before smuggling them to neighboring countries.
Authorities soon carried out an operation against the cell, arresting some members and killing others. The search is still ongoing for some fugitive members.
Amman accuses Iran and its allied militias, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah which is active in southern Syria, of being behind the drugs smuggling.
It says the operations aim to cause tensions and security instability in Jordan.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi met with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in New York in mid-April where they were attending a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Middle East.
Safadi informed Abdollahian that “Jordan won’t allow Iran or Israel to turn it into a warzone.” Jordan will “confront any violation of its territories and threat to its security and safety of its citizens,” he vowed.
“Jordan wants good relations with Iran, but getting there demands the removal of the sources of tension and the immediate end of meddling in Jordanian affairs,” he stressed.
Damascus did not comment on the latest drug smuggling attempt, but local media sources said the operation had taken place in the desert area between Syria and Jordan.
It added that a person in connection to the government-affiliated Fifth Brigade was involved in the smuggling attempt.
