Syria, Jordan Launch Anti-Drug Campaign From Damascus to Suwayda

Members of the department arrested three of the network’s most prominent members, identified by the initials A. S., M. B., and A. A.

In parallel, the department’s units succeeded in taking control of former sites used to manufacture Captagon pills. The sites contained quantities of raw materials, machinery, and advanced logistical equipment. The units also arrested the main official responsible for the sites, identified by the initials A. A., who was referred to the competent judiciary in accordance with legal procedures.

The ministry said these field operations were the result of close coordination between various Interior Ministry units and border guard forces to strike key points in criminal networks.

It added that the Anti-Narcotics Department continues to carry out its national duty to pursue and strike all hubs and sources of narcotics and protect society from their dangers, as it put it.

Jordanian Raids on a Weapons and Drugs Hub in Suwayda

For its part, the Jordanian Armed Forces announced hours after the raids, at dawn on Sunday, May 3, that it was responsible for carrying out the “Jordanian Deterrence Operation,” which targeted several sites belonging to weapons and drug dealers along the Kingdom’s northern border.

The Jordanian Armed Forces said on its official website that, based on intelligence and operational information, it had identified the locations of factories, workshops, and warehouses used by those groups as launch points for their operations toward Jordanian territory, and that they were targeted and destroyed.

The Jordanian Armed Forces confirmed that the targeting operations were carried out with the highest level of precision to prevent drugs and weapons from reaching Jordanian territory.

Smuggling Escalates as Deterrence Continues

The Jordanian Armed Forces said, according to al-Mamlaka TV, that these groups rely on new patterns of activity, exploiting weather conditions and current regional circumstances to carry out their operations.

It noted that the number of attempts to smuggle weapons and drugs had risen significantly, creating a major challenge for border guard forces and the formations and units supporting them in performing their duties.

The Jordanian Armed Forces confirmed that it will continue to deal proactively, decisively, and with deterrence against any threat affecting the Kingdom’s security and sovereignty, and will harness its capabilities and resources to confront it with full force and firmness.

The targeting followed a series of previous Jordanian military operations inside Syrian territory, as the Jordanian army had previously announced the “neutralization” of several dealers organizing weapons and drug smuggling operations along Jordan’s northern border.

At the time, the Jordanian army said in a statement published on its official website in December 2025 that it had targeted several factories and workshops used by these groups as launch sites for their operations toward Jordanian territory.

It confirmed that it destroyed the specified sites based on precise intelligence information and in coordination with regional partners, without naming them.

Syrian, Jordanian Talks to Combat Drug Smuggling

Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Safadi, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Maj. Gen. Yousef Huneiti, and the Director of the General Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Ahmad Husni held an expanded round of talks in Damascus on March 12 with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra, and Syrian General Intelligence Service chief Hussein al-Salama.

The talks at the time, according to al-Mamlaka TV, addressed defense and security cooperation between the two countries, with the Syrian and Jordanian delegations affirming continued cooperation in combating terrorism and the smuggling of drugs and weapons through the joint working mechanisms established by the two countries.

The talks also addressed ways to strengthen bilateral relations and regional developments.

Safadi and al-Shaibani: Security Coordination Against Drugs

Safadi and al-Shaibani also confirmed, in a joint press conference at the conclusion of the Jordanian-Syrian Higher Coordination Council meetings in the Jordanian capital, Amman, on April 12, that broad security coordination exists to confront drug and weapons smuggling, and stressed the need to support Syria in reconstruction and preserving sovereignty.

Safadi noted significant progress in defense and security coordination between the two countries to confront drug and weapons smuggling and attempts to tamper with security, stressing that institutional cooperation between the armed forces and security agencies in both countries had made major strides.

In the security context, al-Shaibani stressed that the inflamed regional reality requires raising the level of military and security coordination between the two countries. He said this coordination had been translated into practice through continuous meetings in Damascus and Amman between military and security leaders, and through the shared position of waging a strict war to uproot drug and weapons smuggling networks, while placing stability in southern Syria at the core of priorities because of its organic link to the security of both countries.