Jordan army intercepted over 17,000 packets of hashish from Syria since January
The Jordanian army reported intercepting more than 17,000 packets of hashish from Syria since the start of 2022, alongside 17 million Captagon pills, as skirmishes with smugglers became more frequent. The military adopted a shoot-to-kill policy after smugglers killed a Jordanian soldier in January.
🇯🇴 Jordan-Syria border, Jordan
Since the start of 2022, the Jordanian army has intercepted more than 17,000
packets of hashish on the Syrian border.[1]In the same period the army
intercepted 17 million Captagon pills, a figure that is not a cannabis quantity.[1]
Jordan is largely a transit route for the region’s drug trade, with the Gulf
states, particularly Saudi Arabia, the biggest market.[1]Skirmishes between
the Jordanian military and drug traffickers were becoming more frequent, with
larger hauls being made, and a colonel estimated about 160 armed groups operate
in southern Syria.[1]The killing of a Jordanian soldier by smugglers in
January 2022 prompted the army to adopt a shoot-to-kill policy in its rules of
engagement.[1]
Sources
BBC Newsbbc.comCaptagon: Jordan's undeclared war against Syria drug traffickers
Open questions the AI reported
The article gives no weight for the 17,000 packets of hashish, so no cannabis quantity is recorded.
The hashish tally covers interceptions through mid-April 2022, with no breakdown by date or operation.
The Captagon pill figures and the estimated $3.5bn market value are not cannabis figures and are left out.
The article does not say how many people were arrested, charged or killed in the interceptions that involved hashish.
The report is a BBC feature drawing on army statements; no army statement page on the individual interceptions could be opened.
A separate event the article describes, the killing of 27 traffickers at several border points on 27 January 2022, is not covered here.
Jordan's Eastern Military Region said border guard units brought down guided balloons carrying a large quantity of drugs inside Jordanian territory on the morning of 9 November 2026 and seized the cargo. The drugs were passed to the competent authorities, and no weight, arrests or border of origin were reported.
Jordan Customs Anti-Smuggling patrols foiled a narcotics smuggling attempt on 9 October 2026, seizing 296 slabs of hashish and six kilograms of marijuana. The department credited joint work with security agencies.
Jordan's Public Security Directorate recorded 22,031 drug crimes in 2025, down 12.8 per cent from 25,260 in 2024. Possession and use fell 10 per cent to 15,720 and trafficking 19 per cent to 6,311. A separate human-rights report had compared 2025 crimes with 2024 arrests, producing a misleading 34 per cent drop.
The Anti-Narcotics Department reported 25,260 drug cases involving 38,782 people in 2024. It seized 3,000 kg of hashish, 262 kg of marijuana and 27.5 million Captagon pills, and 744 people entered rehabilitation. The figures cover all drugs, not cannabis alone.
