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.
asserted
border → fear → drones
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.
uncertain
this → have → kingdom
Netanyahu goes, does anything really change for Palestinians?
asserted
anything → go → Palestinians
This escalation coincides with changes in the regional drug trade, particularly after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.
asserted
escalation → coincide → 2024
Elements in his regime were linked to the manufacturing and distribution of Captagon, an illegal amphetamine stimulant.
asserted
Elements → link → Captagon
Syria became a hub for the distribution of Captagon to the Gulf, with Jordan a transit point and market for the drug.
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Jordan → become → drug
The Royal Jordanian Air Force carried out periodic strikes on drug manufacturing and smuggling points inside Syria, highlighting the huge security concerns Jordan had about the trade.
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Jordan → carry → trade
Since the collapse of the Assad government and the establishment of a new authority that views the Captagon trade as a national security issue, there has been a decrease in the drug trade from Syria into Jordan.
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that → view → Jordan
Although Druze militias in the Syrian province of Suwayda allegedly linked to Israel have been accused of continuing the drug trade, Jordanian security forces are increasingly focused on the Jordan-Israel border.
uncertain
forces → link → border
The use of quadcopter drones and balloons is reportedly among the new tactics used by gangs in Israel to smuggle hashish, crystal meth, and amphetamines into Jordan.
uncertain
use → use → Jordan
Jordanian security forces are said to be increasingly unhappy with the scale of the drug smuggling operations and have accused the Israeli army of not taking the issue seriously.
asserted
forces → say → issue
Initial data from Jordanian forces recorded 17 interception operations linked to drones during the first half of 2026 in Jordan’s southwestern border area with Israel.
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data → record → Israel
They also recorded 231 smuggling and infiltration attempts and downed 56 drones across various borders during the same period.
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They → record → period
Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya told Al Jazeera that Jordanian forces were continuing efforts to prevent drugs from being smuggled into the kingdom.
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forces → tell → kingdom
But they are evidently facing more complex activities by drug dealers.
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they → face → dealers
“There is an increase in drug smuggling operations from Israel to Jordan using drones,” he said.
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he → be → drones
“The number of seized drug cases during the current year reached 15,342 cases.
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number → seize → cases
Trafficking cases constituted about 28 percent of them, compared with 72 percent for usage cases.”
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cases → constitute → cases
Israeli media reports indicate that gangs active in the Negev Desert are behind some of the smuggling operations into Jordan, where drugs can fetch higher profits.
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drugs → indicate → profits
There are estimates that 1kg of hashish can sell for approximately 7,500 pounds sterling (almost $10,000), according to the British newspaper The Telegraph, which recently uncovered the drug smugglers’ latest operations.
uncertain
which → be → operations
Israeli security services believe that the price of hashish in Jordan is about 15 times higher than in Israel.
asserted
price → believe → Israel
Due to widespread disenfranchisement and poverty, elements within Palestinian communities in Israel have been linked to the drug trade, according to reports.
uncertain
elements → link → reports
Multiple sources have accused Israel of allowing Palestinian towns and cities to become hotbeds of crime to create divisions and prevent calls for greater rights.
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towns → accuse → rights
Ammar al-Qudah, a member of the Jordanian Senate and retired major-general in the Public Security Directorate, claimed that organised gangs in the Negev had obtained more than 1,000 drones that were originally used for agricultural and security purposes.
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that → claim → purposes
“The smuggling networks are linked to other gangs in Jordan, Sinai and the Negev, and rely on a route starting from Sinai, passing through the Negev, and reaching Wadi Araba, in addition to other routes including the Lebanese border with Israel and the Galilee region towards Syria,” he told Al Jazeera.
asserted
he → link → Syria
They are also using a range of sophisticated technology to bypass security on both sides of the border.
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They → use → border
This includes the use of helium-filled balloons equipped with GPS devices, drones capable of carrying about 50kg of narcotics, including black hashish and crystal meth, al-Qudah said.
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Qudah → include → hashish
He warned that a portion of the black hashish and crystal meth being smuggled into the kingdom is being sold domestically, with the rest going to other markets in the region.
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rest → warn → region
With such high-tech operations, there are accusations that members of Israeli forces know about drug gang activities, based on past experiences in Egypt.
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members → be → Egypt
One West Point report said current and former trackers in the Israeli military in the Negev are being recruited by traffickers to provide intelligence to facilitate their operations in Egypt.
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trackers → say → Egypt
In 2012, a number of Israeli service personnel were arrested on suspicion of collaborating with drug smugglers across the Egyptian border.
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number → arrest → border
While there is no proof that the same situation is being repeated in Jordan, many have questioned how drones and balloons carrying drugs could cross a heavily surveilled and guarded Israeli border into Jordan.
uncertain
drones → be → Jordan
Jordan’s counternarcotics department, in cooperation with the armed forces, has tracked such cases and made arrests.
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department → track → arrests
Retired Brigadier-General Daifallah al-Daboubi, a strategic and military expert, said Jordan is witnessing a “reverse drug migration”, starting from the Sinai Peninsula, passing through the Negev region, and reaching the kingdom.
“Groups active in Beersheba and the Negev possess great financial capabilities and use advanced smuggling methods, most notably drones,” he said.
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he → say → methods
The Israeli army’s preoccupation with wars in Gaza, Lebanon and the occupied Golan Heights has provided smugglers with room to manoeuvre on the Jordan border, he added.
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he → provide → border
But he ruled out the direct involvement of the Israeli political or military leadership in any drug smuggling.
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he → rule → smuggling
Steps taken by Israel to boost security on its eastern border include the establishment of the 96th Division, which began operating in the Jordan Valley in 2025, and the construction of a controversial security barrier with Jordan.
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which → take → Jordan
But none of these measures appears to be designed to prevent drugs from leaving Israel; instead, they appear to be designed to prevent weapons and other illicit merchandise from entering the country from Jordan.
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they → appear → Jordan
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