Jordan: Drug Smuggling Attempts via Syria Persist

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi at a press conference after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Amman, Jordan (Reuters)
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi at a press conference after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Amman, Jordan (Reuters)
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Jordan: Drug Smuggling Attempts via Syria Persist

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi at a press conference after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Amman, Jordan (Reuters)
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi at a press conference after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Amman, Jordan (Reuters)

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi announced that drug smuggling attempts continue across the Syrian border, according to the Arab World News Agency.

Speaking at the virtual ministerial meeting to Launch the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drugs in Washington, Safadi said that Jordan confiscated over 65 million Captagon pills during the past two years.

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted the virtual Ministerial-level meeting to provide the foundation to combine efforts and prevent the production and trafficking of illicit synthetic drugs, identify emerging drug trends and use patterns, and respond to their public health impacts.

Safadi said that forming the coalition is essential in addressing the escalating threat of industrial drugs.

He called for cooperation in providing border protection technology and exchanging intelligence information in confronting the drug threat, which requires a joint international effort.

Last month, the Jordanian Armed Forces announced that it had shot down a drone carrying narcotics from Syrian territory.

Combating drug smuggling and dumping in the Jordanian market topped Jordan's priorities in recent talks in Amman, with the participation of the foreign ministers of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq.

In a statement after the meeting, Syria agreed to help prevent drug trafficking, work to identify drug traffickers and cooperate with Jordan and Iraq to end trafficking.

Last May, according to press reports, Jordan launched an air strike targeting the most prominent strongholds of drug smuggling and manufacturing in southern Syria, killing a Syrian drug smuggler.



German Warship Shot Down Drone Off Lebanon, Defense Ministry Says

UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles are seen parked in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, in southern Lebanon on August 9, 2024. (Reuters)
UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles are seen parked in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, in southern Lebanon on August 9, 2024. (Reuters)
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German Warship Shot Down Drone Off Lebanon, Defense Ministry Says

UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles are seen parked in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, in southern Lebanon on August 9, 2024. (Reuters)
UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles are seen parked in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, in southern Lebanon on August 9, 2024. (Reuters)

A German warship operating as part of the United Nations' UNIFIL mission brought down an unmanned flying object off the coast of Lebanon on Thursday, a spokesperson for the German defense ministry told Reuters.
"The corvette brought an unidentified unmanned aerial vehicle into the water in a controlled crash," the spokesperson said, reporting no damage to the German vessel or its crew.
The corvette Ludwigshafen am Rhein is continuing its duties, he added.
The dpa news agency first reported on the incident.