Israeli gangs are smuggling drugs into Jordan by balloon and drone, The Telegraph has reported. Officials say crystal meth, amphetamines and hashish are being moved across the border as prices soar in the kingdom, with hashish now fetching roughly $9,500 a kilogram (about $4,300 a pound).
Jordan has stepped up patrols and surveillance as the volume of smuggled narcotics grows. Israel, meanwhile, regularly announces gun seizures from the Jordanian side, including a drone carrying nine rifles last month, a pattern some on Israel's Right cite as justification for a stronger military presence in the West Bank.
Yet according to information relayed to The Telegraph, Jordan's own military leadership sees these "selective" disclosures as one-sided. A military source stated: "These announcements by the Israeli side are exaggerated and inaccurate and only cover half the story.
"There are reciprocal smuggling operations of drugs into Jordan. Jordanian border guards have been actively foiling several attempts to smuggle drugs from Israel in recent months."
The IDF rejected claims it was ignoring the problem, citing a new army division and a planned security barrier.
Since former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's fall in 2024, Jordan has intensified efforts against his old drug empire, including blocking Captagon production in Syria, and bombing targets in Suwayda province this summer to disrupt the trade.
The Telegraph has seen figures showing more than 15,000 Captagon pills, nearly 20,000kg of crystal meth and 6,000 hashish blocks seized since early 2026, alongside "large quantities" of other drugs.
Ties between Jordan and Israel have cooled since the Gaza war despite a 1994 peace treaty. King Abdullah II told the UN last month that "this [Israeli] government's sense of impunity has reached terrifying levels," branding its "expansionist appetite" a "regional threat."
A military source added: "Jordan makes periodic and transparent official announcements about all smuggling attempts that border guards thwart, while Israel's selective policy releases reports on certain incidents and amplifies them to try to suggest there are security issues on the border.
"It appears that these frequent announcements are aimed at creating an illusion of constant threat on the border to justify stepping up security and military procedures in the West Bank and in border areas."
Analysts also tie Israel's presence in southern Syria, where it backs Druze forces in Suwayda, to the region's growing drug trade.
An IDF spokesman said, "the claim that the IDF is not taking the issue of smuggling along the eastern border seriously does not reflect the scope of the ongoing efforts and measures being implemented to address it.
"The IDF is working to strengthen defenses along the eastern border. As part of these efforts, the 96th Division, a dedicated division responsible for defending the eastern border, was established over the past year.
"Construction of a security barrier has also begun, alongside the reinforcement of additional defensive measures, with the aim of improving detection, prevention, and interdiction capabilities along the border."
He also added that "over the past year, security forces have thwarted dozens of weapons-smuggling attempts and seized thousands of kilograms of drugs."
