Authorities thwart attempts to smuggle 3m narcotic pills

AMMAN — Authorities have foiled attempts to smuggle around 3 million pills believed to be narcotics to a neighboring country, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Saturday.

Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) customs personnel on Friday, in cooperation with specialised security bodies, confiscated 1.5 million narcotic pills that were found hidden in a vehicle inspected near the border. 

Mahmoud Khleifat, ASEZA commissioner for revenues and customs, said this is one of the biggest operations foiled by the ASEZA customs, adding that the vehicle’s driver was referred to the judiciary, Petra reported.

In the second incident, Durra customs centre personnel foiled an attempt to smuggle 1.45 million pills which were believed to be drugs, Jordan Customs Department Spokesperson Fadi Qudah said Saturday. 

The personnel tracked the suspected smuggler, an Arab national, and found the pills hidden in his private car, while he was heading to a neighbouring country, Qudah said, adding that the case was referred to the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND), according to Petra.

Last month, Deputy Public Security Department Director for Criminal Investigation Affairs Maj. Gen. Tahsin Momani said 5,490 drug cases were registered in the first six months of 2015, 468 of which were related to trafficking, 36 related to addiction and 4,986 related to possession.

Senior drug officials disclosed figures last year stating that between May 31, 2013 and the end of May 2014, the department dealt with 7,713 illegal narcotic cases, including 712 cases of drug trafficking.

The number of arrested individuals during that period was 10,792, including 1,296 who are non-Jordanians, according to the figures.

Most of the seized drugs, according to AND figures, were destined to neighbouring countries such as Saudi Arabia, Israel, Lebanon and Egypt.

The majority of the seized illegal narcotics are not for local consumption; they are destined for neighbouring countries such as illegal pills, which are worth between JD7 to JD10 per pill there, a senior AND official said in previous remarks to The Jordan Times.