The Jordanian military on Sunday downed a drone carrying crystal meth that was flying into Jordanian territory from neighboring Syria, Reuters reported, citing Jordan’s state news agency Petra.
Syria has become a hub for a multi-billion-dollar drugs trade, with Jordan a main transit route to the oil-rich Gulf states for a Syrian-made amphetamine known as captagon, according to Western anti-narcotics officials.
Citing a source within the Jordanian armed forces, the state agency said in a statement the drone was "taken control of and downed".
The Jordanian military has previously downed drones from Syria carrying narcotics or weapons but has rarely identified seized drugs as crystal meth, according to Reuters.
Jordan reduced diplomatic relations with Syria, like most Arab countries, following the start of the civil war there in 2011, hosted western-backed opposition groups and took in hundreds of thousands of refugees.
In 2014, Jordan expelled the Syrian ambassador, citing “continued offensive statements, through his personal contacts or writing in the media and the social media against the kingdom.”
Syria later retaliated by expelling the Jordanian ambassador from Damascus.
In 2015, Syria accused Jordan of training "terrorists" on its soil and urged the UN Security Council to take action.
Two years ago, Jordan’s King Abdullah II received a call from Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad for the first time in a decade. The call came amid efforts aimed at boosting cooperation between the two countries.
Reuters noted that military and security officials from Jordan and Syria have met to discuss ways to curb the growing smuggling problem. Despite pledges by Damascus, Jordan says it has not seen any real attempt to clamp down on the illicit trade.