RIYADH: Saudi and Jordanian customs foiled a bid to smuggle drugs at Halat Ammar Port and seized several pills and Captagon tablets secretly kept in 193 air filters, with three suspects taken into custody.
Jordanian Anti-Narcotics Department confirmed continued communication and coordination with Saudi authorities to stop smuggling attempts between the two countries.
Saudi-Jordanian ports are frequently used in smuggling attempts. Jordan is considered a transit country for the drug trade into Saudi Arabia, with the majority of confiscated materials coming from Syria, Lebanon and Turkey.
Anti-Narcotics Department officials say pills rank first among confiscated drugs, with increased demand for Captagon, pushing smugglers to deliver to the Gulf in any way possible. People prefer this drug because of its suitable prices and various ways it can be smuggled.
Jordanian Anti-Narcotics Department Director, Brig. Gen. Sami Askar, said a search is under way for the other three perpetrators, some of whom carry Saudi nationality.
Askar said strict procedures are implemented at ports from both the Jordanian and Saudi sides to frustrate any smuggling attempt.
He said many smuggling attempts have been frustrated. There are additional attempts from other countries, such as Egypt and Iraq, with Anti-Narcotics Department frustrating two to three attempts every month.
Coordination is done through communicating names of Saudiswho were either in possession of drugs or were ready to receive smuggled material.
Col. Salman Al-Nashwan, spokesman for the Saudi Anti-Narcotics Department, said anti-drug authorities remain vigilant against attempts to smuggle Captagon as Saudi Arabia is a target for drug smuggling.
