Jordan's armed forces say border guards in the country's Eastern Military Zone stopped an attempt to smuggle narcotics into the kingdom early on Friday, 13 November, after detecting guided balloons heading towards Jordanian territory.

Border Guard units intercepted the balloons and brought them down inside Jordan, seizing the narcotics they were carrying, the state news agency Petra reported. The operation was carried out in coordination with the security and military agencies and the Anti-Narcotics Department, and the seized substances were handed over to the relevant authorities for the necessary legal action.

A Jordan Armed Forces statement carried the same account, saying an officer at the General Command announced that the Eastern Military Zone had thwarted the attempt early on Friday morning along its front-line area of responsibility. According to the statement, border guards detected a cluster of balloons entering Jordanian territory and brought them down inside the kingdom.

A search of the area where the balloons came down found that they were fitted with rudimentary remote-control navigation systems and loaded with narcotic substances, the armed forces said. Neither Petra nor the armed forces statement gave a quantity for the drugs seized, named the type of narcotic, or said where the balloons had been launched from.

Guided balloons have become a repeated tactic

The interception was not an isolated incident. Jordanian forces reported a similar attempt only days earlier, on Monday, 9 November, when border guards in the Eastern Military Zone brought down guided balloons carrying a large quantity of narcotics after detecting them heading towards the kingdom. That operation was also carried out with the security agencies and the Anti-Narcotics Department, Petra reported at the time.

Jordan's armed forces have issued a series of similar statements in recent days, describing repeated attempts to fly drugs across the border on balloons fitted with improvised guidance devices. The method allows smugglers to send loads over border defences without crossing on foot or by vehicle, and the balloons can be launched from a distance and steered towards Jordanian territory.

The armed forces say their border units detect the balloons through surveillance and bring them down inside Jordan, where the payloads are recovered and handed to the competent authorities. The statements do not identify the smugglers behind the flights.

Army vows to confront every smuggling attempt

The Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army reaffirmed its commitment to carrying out its national duty with efficiency and resolve, Petra reported, stressing that it would firmly confront all infiltration and smuggling attempts, regardless of the methods employed or the evolving means used.

The armed forces said the efforts aim to safeguard the kingdom's security and stability, protect its sovereignty and ensure the safety of its citizens. In its own statement, the General Command said the armed forces remain fully committed to using all available capabilities and resources to prevent infiltration and smuggling, in order to safeguard the security and stability of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Friday's interception underlines the pressure on Jordan's border forces, who have to watch for a shifting set of smuggling methods, from balloons to drones, along the kingdom's frontiers. The armed forces have not reported any injuries or arrests in connection with Friday's incident, and the seized narcotics have been passed to the authorities for investigation and legal proceedings.