Experts call for national strategy to combat illegal drugs, weapons smuggling

AMMAN — Security experts on Sunday called for drafting a national strategy to combat the use of illicit drugs and the illegal use of weapons, including during festive events, citing a danger to public safety and stability.

The experts also called for an awareness campaign using the media, school curricula and other clubs and local communities’ activities to explore the dangers of drug abuse and “unnecessary” use of weapons.

“Several people resort to using guns and automatic weapons to express their joy at weddings, the birth of a child or for passing the Tawjihi exams and this is very dangerous,” said Abdullah Darawsheh, who holds a PhD in Criminology.

This harmful practice, Darawsheh told The Jordan Times, “is causing grave harm to the safety and security of the community”.

Darawsheh, who is a professor of Criminology at Mutah University, said illegal narcotics and weapons are “easily obtained and very light to carry... And there are always people who are willing to buy them”.

As a result, he added, the use of illegal narcotics has “increased dramatically”.

“In certain areas some people do not drink tea that is offered to them because it might contain illegal narcotics, which is a dangerous and unfortunate phenomenon in our society,” according to Darawsheh. 

Assistant to the PSD director of Criminal Security, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Malahim agreed with Darawsheh’s comments, saying that “illegal narcotics problem are growing”.

“In Jordan we have a problem, not as big as people say it is, but what [has] changed is the number of reported arrests and busts,” Malahim explained.

The Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) say they have intensified efforts to stop drug trafficking and arrest drug dealers and abusers.

“The reasons for the increase in illicit trafficking are the conflicts in neighbouring countries around us, which require stronger surveillance and monitoring of the borders,” according to Malahim.

Therefore, the increase in numbers “forced us [to] focus on prevention, treatment and professional operations against drug traffickers,” Malahim told The Jordan Times.

The AND strategy, Malahim added, is to ensure that illicit drugs are no longer easily available in Jordan and, therefore, “people will not find anyone to buy illicit drugs from”.

At the same time, the PSD official added: “We are [also] focusing on the treatment part and are attempting to help as many people as possible.”

The police official added that treatment at centres, which would usually cost around JD600, is free and dealt with in the utmost secrecy.

“We also receive cases of individuals who turn themselves in with the utmost secrecy and do not refer them to the judiciary. We are focused on helping them,” Malahim added.

Former governor Abdul Jalil Suleimat also addressed the problem of misusing firearms.

“The conflicts around us are helping the smuggling of weapons into the country, and it is very easy to purchase smuggled guns and automatic weapons,” Suleimat told The Jordan Times.

The former governor added that the easy access to weapons “is encouraging people to mishandle weapons and use them without justified reasons”.