Amman (AFP) - The Jordanian army announced in a statement that the Border Guard forces shot down a drone coming from Syria on Saturday that tried to cross the Jordanian border while it was carrying hand grenades and a rifle.

The statement quoted an official military source in the General Command of the Armed Forces as saying, "The Border Guard forces detected ... an attempt to illegally cross the border from Syrian territory to Jordanian territory, and it was shot down inside Jordanian territory."

He added, "After intensifying searches and inspections of the area, an M4 rifle and four hand grenades were found, and it was found that the drone was prepared with a booby-trapped device, in case it was seized by the border guards."

He stressed that "the Jordanian armed forces continue to deal with all force and firmness, with any threat on the border fronts, and any endeavors intended to undermine and destabilize the security of the homeland and terrorize its citizens."

The Jordanian army announces, from time to time, that it has thwarted the smuggling of weapons and drugs coming from the Syrian territories.

On February 17 of last year, the Jordanian army announced that it had thwarted a large number of drug smuggling attempts across the 375-kilometre border, which had become "organised", using drones and protected by armed groups.

The army said at the time that the Jordanian authorities thwarted, within about 45 days in early 2022, the entry of more than 16 million Captagon pills, equivalent to the quantity that was seized throughout the year 2021.

The Kingdom confirms that 85 percent of the drugs seized are intended for smuggling out of Jordan, especially to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states.

The Captagon industry is not new in the region, and Syria has been the most prominent source of this substance since before the war broke out in 2011. However, the conflict made its manufacture more popular, used and exported. Captagon pill factories are also active in several areas in neighboring Lebanon.

The Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia, are the main destination for Captagon pills, which are easy-to-manufacture drugs and classified by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime as “a type of stimulating amphetamine,” which is usually a mixture of amphetamines, caffeine, and other substances.