British media: Israeli gangs flood Jordan with drugs
The British newspaper The Telegraph reported that Israeli criminal groups are smuggling drugs into Jordan using drones and balloons, profiting from the price gap. The IDF claims dozens of thwarted weapons shipments and thousands of kilograms of seized drugs. Jordanian military officials criticize the Israeli reports, calling them selective.
The British newspaper The Telegraph published a report claiming that Israeli criminal groups have established drug smuggling into Jordan using drones and balloons. The scheme is based on a sharp price gap: according to estimates by Israeli security agencies, hashish in Jordan costs 15 times more than in Israel. One of the publication's interlocutors estimated the price of a kilogram of hashish in the kingdom at 7,500 pounds sterling (about 30,000 shekels). It is noted that over the past two years, drug prices in Jordan have risen sharply. According to The Telegraph, the groups exporting drugs from Israel often also engage in reverse smuggling — delivering weapons into the country. After hundreds of kilograms of drugs were transferred, Jordanian security forces stepped up border patrols. On the evening of October 13, Israeli police reported that a drone crashed in the Hai-Bar nature reserve in the Arava, which is suspected to have flown in from Jordan with a cargo of drugs. The publication links the rise in prices in Jordan to the intensified fight against smuggling from Syria after the fall of the Assad regime. The Jordanian air force struck targets in the area of As-Suwayda. Since the beginning of 2026, Jordanian forces have intercepted the smuggling of more than 15,000 captagon pills, about 20,000 kilograms of methamphetamine and 6,000 bricks of hashish. The newspaper also claims that Israeli military activity in southern Syria contributed to increased smuggling. Jordanian military officials criticize Israeli reports about interceptions, calling them selective and exaggerated. The IDF rejected these claims, reporting the creation of the 96th Division to protect the eastern border and the construction of a barrier.