Israeli Drug Smuggling Rings Flooding Jordan With Narcotics, Report Claims

Israeli smuggling gangs are reportedly flooding Jordan with illegal drugs, utilizing drones and balloons to cross the border, according to a report by the British newspaper The Telegraph. The report highlights that smugglers are exploiting the significantly higher prices of illicit drugs in Jordan, where a kilogram of hashish can fetch around £7,500 (approximately $30,000), a price estimated by Israeli security officials to be 15 times higher than in Israel. Drug prices in Jordan have surged in the past two years, partly due to increased Jordanian military efforts to curb smuggling from Syria following the fall of the Assad regime. The Jordanian Air Force has reportedly bombed targets in the Suwayda region to disrupt these operations, and Jordanian forces have intercepted large quantities of drugs, including Captagon pills, crystal meth, and hashish.

The Telegraph also suggests that the same gangs involved in drug smuggling are often responsible for smuggling weapons into Israel using similar methods. The report claims that Israel's military activities in southern Syria, including support for the Druze community in Suwayda, have contributed to the rise in drug production in the region, which has become a hub for narcotics manufacturing. Jordanian security forces have intensified border patrols and upgraded surveillance technology, including watchtowers and drones, in response to hundreds of kilograms of drugs being smuggled from Israel.

Israeli security forces frequently announce the interception of weapons smuggling, with nine Kalashnikov rifles seized just last month. However, Jordanian military commanders have criticized these announcements as selective, portraying Jordan as a lawless frontier while ignoring crime on the Israeli side. A Jordanian military source alleged that these Israeli statements are exaggerated and inaccurate, presenting only half the story and ignoring mutual drug smuggling into Jordan, which the Jordanian Border Guard is actively combating. The source accused Israel of attempting to create an illusion of a constant border threat to justify increased military and security operations in the West Bank and border areas.

In response, the IDF has rejected claims that it does not take drug smuggling seriously. An IDF spokesperson told The Telegraph that the military has established a new brigade, Brigade 96, dedicated to strengthening the eastern border and has begun constructing a security barrier to enhance detection, prevention, and interception capabilities. The IDF reported thwarting dozens of weapons smuggling attempts and seizing thousands of kilograms of drugs in the past year.