Who is Marie Ramthan who was killed in Jordanian air strike in Syria?
DARAA, Syria (North Press) – During the past years, there has been much talk about one of the most prominent drug trafficker in southern Syria, especially after the government forces took control of area in the summer of 2018.
On Monday, Marie Ramthan, 45, his wife and six children were killed, while a child is still in ICU after two raids by Jordanian air force in the east of Suwayda Governorate near the Syrian-Jordanian border.
Local sources told North Press that Ramthan, who hails from the village of al-Sha’ab in the southern countryside of Suwayda, used to work as a shepherd before working in drug trafficking and smuggling.
The sources added that Ramthan exploited the security chaos caused by the government forces in southern Syria, as he expanded his drug-trafficking business.
The sources noted that Ramthan joined the ranks of the Military Intelligence Division of the government forces and strengthened his relations with members of the Lebanese Hezbollah, which enabled him to expand his work in the drug trafficking.
Ramthan and his group had a key role in eliminating the Anti-Terrorism Force groups, which represented an obstacle to the drug smuggling in the region, the sources added.
The sources further explained that Ramthan once was arrested by one of a military checkpoints of the government forces as he was released the next day.
The sources confirmed that the reason for the arrest at the time was the dispute between Ramthan and an officer of the Military Security Branch over a drug shipment.
Although Ramthan is Syrian, he is wanted by the State Security Court in Jordan, which is considered the most prominent court in the country.
In July 2022, the State Security Court gave Ramthan and a number of wanted persons 10 days to turn themselves in, according to the Jordanian al-Ghad newspaper.
The newspaper stated that the court incriminated Ramthan and those with him with the crime of importing a narcotic substance with the intent of trafficking, in violation of the provisions of Article 19 / A / 1 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law No. 23 of 2016 and several other cases.
On May 5, Jordan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi threatened with a military operation inside Syria in case “effective measures” to curb drug smuggling were not taken by the latter.
In an interview with the American news channel CNN, Safadi said, “We are not taking the threat of drug smuggling lightly.”
The Jordanian army periodically announces the seizure of quantities of captagon pills and other drugs coming from Syria.
Several international reports, headed by the US Department of the Treasury, accused the Syrian government and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia of running large drug trafficking networks in this border area, as well as other Syrian regions.