{"id":129179,"date":"2025-09-02T08:14:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T08:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?p=129179"},"modified":"2025-09-02T08:14:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T08:14:18","slug":"drug-smuggling-tactics-from-syria-evolve-despite-decline-researcher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/129179\/","title":{"rendered":"Drug smuggling tactics from Syria evolve despite decline \u2013 Researcher"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 <\/strong>Drug smuggling operations from Syria into Jordan have undergone a shift in recent months, even as their frequency has declined compared to the period before the fall of the al-Assad regime, a Jordanian researcher said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nidal Abu Zaid, a Jordanian strategic researcher, told North Press that smugglers are adopting increasingly unconventional methods to traffic captagon. He pointed to a recent case in which smugglers attempted to use primitive balloons to transport drugs across the border, describing it as an illustration of evolving tactics.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Abu Zaid stressed that arms smuggling is no longer a primary concern, as the trade now centers almost exclusively on captagon, which poses a persistent security threat to Jordan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He underscored the challenges of controlling the 250-kilometer stretch of border between Syria\u2019s Salkhad and the Jordan-Syria-Iraq triangle, calling it \u201cextremely difficult to achieve full control over this area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The researcher described a \u201cgeographical shift\u201d in smuggling routes toward the Rukban area, linking it to the activity of Iranian-backed militias that previously relocated to Iraq\u2019s Akashat region near the cement factory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He suggested these groups have either re-entered Syria carrying drugs or are receiving shipments inside Syrian territory before funneling them into Jordan through established routes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Abu Zaid emphasized that the challenge cannot be addressed by Jordan or Syria alone, but requires coordinated regional action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCaptagon does not originate solely from Syria, but also from Lebanon,\u201d he said. \u201cAddressing the issue requires joint regional measures to tighten border control across Syria\u2019s frontiers with Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Turkey.\u201d &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Monday, the Jordanian army announced it had intercepted two smuggling attempts involving balloons on the Syrian border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reporting by Abdulsalam Khoja<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Editing by Jwan Shekaki<\/strong><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Drug smuggling operations from Syria into Jordan have undergone a shift in recent months, even as their frequency has declined compared to the period before the fall of the al-Assad regime, a Jordanian researcher said on Tuesday. Nidal Abu Zaid, a Jordanian strategic researcher, told North Press that smugglers are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":129180,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39,7,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-military-developments","category-syria"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Drug smuggling tactics from Syria evolve despite decline \u2013 Researcher<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Drug smuggling operations from Syria into Jordan have undergone a shift in recent months, even as their frequency has\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/129179\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Drug smuggling tactics from Syria evolve despite decline \u2013 Researcher\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Drug smuggling operations from Syria into Jordan have undergone a shift in recent months, even as their frequency has\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/129179\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"North press agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NPA.SYR\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-02T08:14:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-02T08:14:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Jordanian-drone-monitoring-tour-750x430-1.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"430\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"semav1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@NPA_English\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@NPA_English\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"semav1\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/129179\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/129179\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"semav1\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1cc380944b76ba86440ef8ad099f16a0\"},\"headline\":\"Drug smuggling tactics from Syria evolve despite decline \u2013 Researcher\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-02T08:14:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-02T08:14:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/129179\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":297,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/129179\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/Jordanian-drone-monitoring-tour-750x430-1.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"HOME\",\"Military and Security Developments\",\"SYRIA\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/129179\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/129179\\\/\",\"name\":\"Drug smuggling tactics from Syria evolve despite decline \u2013 Researcher\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/129179\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/129179\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/Jordanian-drone-monitoring-tour-750x430-1.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-02T08:14:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-02T08:14:18+00:00\",\"description\":\"QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Drug smuggling operations from Syria into Jordan have undergone a shift in recent months, even as their frequency has\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/129179\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/129179\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/129179\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/Jordanian-drone-monitoring-tour-750x430-1.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/Jordanian-drone-monitoring-tour-750x430-1.webp\",\"width\":750,\"height\":430,\"caption\":\"A picture taken during a tour organized by the Jordanian military shows a drone flying over an observation post along the border with Syria on Feb. 17, 2022 \u2014 AFP\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/129179\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Drug smuggling tactics from Syria evolve despite decline \u2013 Researcher\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"North press agency\",\"description\":\"North press agency\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"North press agency\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/npasyria.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/npasyria.jpg\",\"width\":682,\"height\":388,\"caption\":\"North press agency\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/NPA.SYR\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/NPA_English\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/northpressagency\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCyGMim0bdq_6W-ryV9WI29A\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1cc380944b76ba86440ef8ad099f16a0\",\"name\":\"semav1\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"semav1\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/semav1\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Drug smuggling tactics from Syria evolve despite decline \u2013 Researcher","description":"QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Drug smuggling operations from Syria into Jordan have undergone a shift in recent months, even as their frequency has","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/129179\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Drug smuggling tactics from Syria evolve despite decline \u2013 Researcher","og_description":"QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Drug smuggling operations from Syria into Jordan have undergone a shift in recent months, even as their frequency has","og_url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/129179\/","og_site_name":"North press agency","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NPA.SYR\/","article_published_time":"2025-09-02T08:14:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-02T08:14:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":750,"height":430,"url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Jordanian-drone-monitoring-tour-750x430-1.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"semav1","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@NPA_English","twitter_site":"@NPA_English","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"semav1","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/129179\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/129179\/"},"author":{"name":"semav1","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/1cc380944b76ba86440ef8ad099f16a0"},"headline":"Drug smuggling tactics from Syria evolve despite decline \u2013 Researcher","datePublished":"2025-09-02T08:14:16+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-02T08:14:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/129179\/"},"wordCount":297,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/129179\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Jordanian-drone-monitoring-tour-750x430-1.webp","articleSection":["HOME","Military and Security Developments","SYRIA"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/129179\/","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/129179\/","name":"Drug smuggling tactics from Syria evolve despite decline \u2013 Researcher","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/129179\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/129179\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Jordanian-drone-monitoring-tour-750x430-1.webp","datePublished":"2025-09-02T08:14:16+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-02T08:14:18+00:00","description":"QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Drug smuggling operations from Syria into Jordan have undergone a shift in recent months, even as their frequency has","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/129179\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/129179\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/129179\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Jordanian-drone-monitoring-tour-750x430-1.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Jordanian-drone-monitoring-tour-750x430-1.webp","width":750,"height":430,"caption":"A picture taken during a tour organized by the Jordanian military shows a drone flying over an observation post along the border with Syria on Feb. 17, 2022 \u2014 AFP"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/129179\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Drug smuggling tactics from Syria evolve despite decline \u2013 Researcher"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/","name":"North press agency","description":"North press agency","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#organization","name":"North press agency","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/npasyria.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/npasyria.jpg","width":682,"height":388,"caption":"North press agency"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NPA.SYR\/","https:\/\/x.com\/NPA_English","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/northpressagency\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCyGMim0bdq_6W-ryV9WI29A"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/1cc380944b76ba86440ef8ad099f16a0","name":"semav1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"semav1"},"url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/author\/semav1\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129179"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129182,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129179\/revisions\/129182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}