Jordan says drug smuggling from Israel is increasing — Al Jazeera

Jordanian Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said drug smuggling from Israel into Jordan is increasing, using quadcopters and helium-filled balloons. He told Al Jazeera.

According to him, 15,342 drug-related cases have been recorded in the country since the beginning of the year. About 28% of them concerned drug dealing, while another 72% involved drug use. Jordanian forces continue to counter smuggling, but smugglers are using increasingly sophisticated methods, the minister said.

Drones at the border

In the first half of 2026, 17 drone-related interception operations were recorded in Jordan’s southwestern border area adjacent to Israel. During the same period, Jordanian forces registered 231 smuggling and illegal-entry attempts at various borders and shot down 56 drones.

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According to Israeli media, groups operating in the Negev desert in southern Israel may be involved in some of the operations. As Al Jazeera reports, Jordanian security forces also accuse the Israeli army of paying insufficient attention to the problem of smuggling toward Jordan.

Routes and technologies

Jordanian Senate member and retired Major General Ammar al-Qudah said organized networks have ties to groups in Jordan, Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and the Negev. He said smugglers use routes through Sinai, the Negev and Wadi Araba, as well as drones capable of carrying about 50 kg of drugs and balloons equipped with GPS devices.

The smuggling involves hashish, methamphetamine and amphetamines, among other substances. According to al-Qudah, some of these substances are sold in Jordan, while the rest are transported to other regional markets. At the same time, there is no evidence in Jordan of a recurrence of cases of possible cooperation between Israeli military personnel and smugglers that had previously been reported at the border with Egypt.