Syrian Army, Security Forces Launch Operation Against Drug Traffickers…
The Syrian army and security forces had launched an operation against drug traffickers along the border with Jordan, Sputnik reported on August 1.
The Russian news agency reported, citing a Syrian military source, that the operation will cover the entire border line in the governorate of Daraa.
“The Syrian army and security forces began combing large parts of the border area with Jordan, south of Daraa governorate, within the framework of the comprehensive plan drawn up by the Syrian state with the aim of pursuing drug dealers and traffickers across the Syrian-Jordanian border,” the source said.
The unnamed source added that the Syrian military and security forces expanded their presence on the border with Jordan and carried out a series of raids along the line.
Several suspected dealers and traffickers were arrested in the course of the operation, the source said, adding that weapons and drugs were also seized.
The source revealed to Sputnik that the operation was a direct result of a meeting between the defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of Syria and Jordan that was held a week earlier in Amman. During the meeting, the two sides agreed to form a joint committee to combat drug trafficking.
Struck by a serious economic crisis and a destructive war, Syria is today one of the key drug production hubs in the Middle East. Jordan, on the other side, is the main smuggling route to the lucrative drug market of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.
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 Daraa and killed a prominent trafficker in the neighboring governorate of al-Suwayda. Reuters reported that the strikes were carried out by Jordan.
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