Jordanian Military Shot Down Third Drone Over Border With Syria In Mon…
On June 28, the Jordanian military announced that it had downed a small drone over the border line with Syria, in the third such incident in less than a month.
An official military source in the General Command of the Jordanian Armed Forces said, according to the official Jordan News Agency, that the Border Guard forces, in coordination with the military security services and the Drug Enforcement Administration, shot down the drone that was carrying drugs.
The drone was shot down inside Jordanian territory, the unnamed source noted, adding that the seized items were transferred to the competent authorities.
Syria, torn by more than a decade of war and economic troubles, is today one of the largest illicit production hubs for amphetamine drugs. Jordan, on the other hand, is the main route to the lucrative drug market in the Gulf.
The Jordanian military foiled a similar attempt to smuggle drugs from Syria with a drone on June 13. Three days later, on June 16, a second drone carrying weapons parts was shot down over the border.
Before Syria was readmitted into the Arab League in May, Jordan and several other Arab countries engaged in talks with Damascus on the issue of border security and drug smuggling. An understanding was reportedly reached.
Later on in the month, a series of strikes destroyed an abandoned drug factory in the southern Syrian governorate of Daraa and killed a prominent trafficker in the neighboring governorate of al-Suwayda. Reuters reported that the strikes were carried out by Jordan. Since then, security measures on both sides of the border have improved. This is likely the reason why traffickers are now relying more on drones to keep their operations alive.
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