Jordan – As many as 27 Syrian smugglers were killed in a shoot-out by the Jordanian army while attempting to enter the country.
The Jordanian troops reported that the suspected smugglers were trying to enter the country from Syria and many with drugs were fleeing back to their home country.
The Jordan army website stated on Thursday that, “it thwarted several suspected attempts to smuggle drugs from Syria and that large quantities of narcotics were seized in separate interventions where several people were wounded.”
The Jordanian military stated it has also found drugs in huge quantities hidden in trucks passing through Jordan which belonged to Syria.
The statement on the website further said it was “continuing to apply the newly established rules of engagement and will strike with an iron fist and deal with force and firmness with any infiltration or smuggling attempts to protect the borders”.
The military reported the death of an army officer earlier this month during a shoot-out with these smugglers which easily come and go because of the porous border between Syria and Jordan.
Approximately 650,000 refugees from Syria are currently residing in Jordan after fleeing their home country because of the civil war that has devastated the middle eastern country for more than 10 years now.
An illegal and huge drug industry has been established in Syria because of the civil war. In recent years, Syria has become the epitome of manufacturing and selling illegal amphetamine known as Captagon.
The illegal drug is being exported all over the middle eastern countries especially the Gulf countries through the gateways of Lebanon and Syria.
The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime stated in 2014 that the amphetamine market has been on a rapid rise in the Middle Eastern Bloc especially in the countries like Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia where consumption accounts for about 55 percent of the total consumed worldwide. The Jordanian officials are in talks with the Syrian government to talk about border security after the porous border becomes a headache for both nations because of the movement of drugs, smugglers, and rebel groups.
