Jordan Announces Drug Bust Linked to Iran-Backed Networks in Syria

Jordanian authorities have announced their largest drug bust in years at a border crossing with Saudi Arabia, tracing the origin to Iran-linked networks in Syria.

According to officials, the Jordanian army has intensified its efforts to combat drug smuggling, especially after recent clashes with individuals suspected of affiliations with pro-Iranian militias. 

In January, Jordanian jets conducted four strikes inside Syria targeting suspected farms and hideouts of Iran-linked drug smugglers.

Jordan and its Western allies have attributed the surge in smuggling to Lebanon-based, Iran-backed Hezbollah and other pro-Iranian militias controlling significant portions of southern Syria. 

To bolster security measures, Jordan has been promised US military aid, with approximately $1 billion already allocated for establishing border posts since the onset of the Syrian conflict in 2011, as confirmed by Jordanian officials.

Experts from the United Nations, the United States, and Europe have underscored how the illicit drug trade funds pro-Iranian militia and pro-government paramilitary forces in Syria, which have emerged during more than a decade of conflict.

Syria has emerged as the primary hub for a multi-billion-dollar drug trade in the region, with Jordan serving as a crucial transit route to oil-rich Persian Gulf states for a Syrian-produced amphetamine known as captagon, according to US and Western anti-narcotics officials.