Jordan-Israel border becomes new hotspot for sophisticated drug trade

Amman, Jordan – Jordanians fear the country’s border with Israel is turning into a major drug-smuggling route amid a surge in high-tech operations by gangs using drones and helium-filled balloons.Organised networks active in southern Israel’s Negev Desert have links to groups in Jordan and the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, operating along one of the most heavily surveilled borders in the world, with Jordanian authorities increasingly concerned about the implications this could have for the kingdom.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Three years of Israel’s mass dispossession of West Bank Palestinianslist 2 of 3King David Hotel bombing to consulate row: A timeline of UK-Israel tensionlist 3 of 3If Netanyahu goes, does anything really change for Palestinians?end of listThis escalation coincides with changes in the regional drug trade, particularly after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.Elements in his regime were linked to the manufacturing and distribution of Captagon, an illegal amphetamine stimulant.Syria became a hub for the distribution of Captagon to the Gulf, with Jordan a transit point and market for the drug. The Royal Jordanian Air Force carri...