Jordan battles influx of cheap amphetamines from neighboring Syria

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• Judy Woodruff:

  In a report we aired last night, we explored how crystal meth is affecting Iraq.

  Tonight, we turn our attention to Captagon, a cheap amphetamine that is popular in Gulf countries. Syria has become a major producer of Captagon over the past years, sending ripple effects through the entire region.

  Special correspondent Simona Foltyn reports from Syria's southern neighbor, Jordan.

• Simona Foltyn:

  This is the new front line in the war on the regional drug trade, Jordan's northern border with Syria.

  On this side, Jordanian armed forces, with support from the U.S., are trying to stop the tide of drugs inundating the Middle East. On the other side, drug cartels backed by the Syrian government are fueling the trade.

  Not far across this valley lies the Syrian town of Daraa, which is where the uprising that would eventually lead to the civil war first began in 2011. End of 2018, the Syrian government retook those areas, and, since then, there has been a steady rise in the illicit drug trade.

  In the first eight months of 2022, the Jordanian army recorded 170 smuggling attempts, a 50 percent increase compared to 2021.

  At the border security operations center, Brigadier General Ahmed Khleifat shows us footage of one assault on the border.

• Brig. Gen. Ahmed Khleifat, Jordanian Armed Forces (through translator):

  This is one of the groups, which consisted of 73 smugglers. They mostly carry Kalashnikovs, but, during this operation, they also had machine guns and hand grenades.

• Simona Foltyn:

  The smugglers opened fire, killing a Jordanian officer, and prompting the army to change its rules of engagement, adopting a shoot-to-kill policy.

• Brig. Gen. Ahmed Khleifat (through translator):

  We have seen unprecedented hostility towards the Jordanian armed forces.

• Simona Foltyn:

  Jordan's stability is vital to the United States presence in the region. The American government has invested more than $260 million in training and equipment to secure this border.

  But the smugglers have proven adaptive, their methods suggesting a high level of organization.

• Brig. Gen. Ahmed Khleifat (through translator):

  They approach in big numbers and divide themselves into groups. Some groups are distracting the border guards. Others open fire to offer cover to those attempting to cross, while the last group is in charge of smuggling the contraband inside Jordan.

• Simona Foltyn:

  The drug cartels operate under the protection of the Syrian government, providing individuals at the top echelons of Bashar al-Assad's regime with an alternative income stream as the U.S. imposed sweeping sanctions and 2020.

  Called the Caesar Act, that round of sanctions was the most comprehensive yet, targeting strategic industries such as construction, finance and energy, and bringing Syria's war-ravaged economy to its knees.

• Brig. Gen. Ahmed Khleifat (through translator):

  The increase in the drug trade was very clear after those sanctions were implemented, which limited trade with Syria.

• Simona Foltyn:

  The Fourth Division of the Syrian army led by the president's Maher al-Assad reportedly provides the logistical backbone and protection for the drug trade, much to the frustration of the Jordanians, who had hoped to restore cooperation after the Syrian army retook control of the Southern border.

• Brig. Gen. Ahmed Khleifat (through translator):

  Border security is supposed to be a mutual responsibility between the two countries. But it's obvious that there are several members in the Syrian army cooperating with the smugglers and providing assistance.

• Simona Foltyn:

  This is despite Jordan's attempt to reengage with Damascus as part of a broader plan to rehabilitate the regime and bring an end to the Syrian crisis.

  The two sides exchanged diplomatic visits and reopened borders, but the influx of drugs continued, including through the official border crossing.

  The Jaber border crossing reopened in 2018 as part of efforts to normalize ties between Jordan and Syria and to boost economic activity, but border security remains a thorny issue between the two sides. And the opening of the border has increased the burden on Jordan to stem the flow of drugs coming into the country.

  Customs officials carry out intensive searches on both passenger and commercial vehicles coming into Jordan using sniffer dogs, X-rays and manual checks. All cargo is off-loaded, crates unpacked, the fabric cover of this sofa removed to check if drugs might be hidden inside.

  It's all part of a race to keep up with the smugglers' ever-evolving tactics, explains Muayyad Habashna of the Ministry of Interior's Anti-Narcotics Department.

• Muayyad Habashna, Jordanian Anti-Narcotics Department (through translator):

  We have thwarted smuggling attempts using gas tubes, haircombs, artificial stones. They hide the drugs inside the vehicle chassis, inside cooling plates in the doors. There are so many different attempts.

• Simona Foltyn:

  Even when it comes to ordinary passenger vehicles, no stone is left unturned, much to the dismay of travelers, who must endure invasive searches.

  Customs officials comb through personal belongings, slice open soap bars, and remove the soles of shoes.

• Speaker:

  So many times, we find the drug inside. We check everything by hand, after that, send everything and X-ray, OK?

• Simona Foltyn:

  And this is what they're looking for, Captagon, a cheap amphetamine-style synthetic stimulant.

  We're in the capital, Amman, inside the Anti-Narcotics Department's central warehouse for drugs seized across the country. Over 25 million Captagon pills were confiscated during nationwide operations in the first quarter of 2020.

• Col. Hasaan Al Qudah, Jordanian Anti-Narcotics Department (through translator):

  Captagon isn't expensive. One pill cost 2 to 3 cents to make, whereas the street price in Jordan is $2.50. So it's very profitable.

• Simona Foltyn:

  Captagon was first developed in the 1960s to treat depression and attention-deficit disorder. Its production has been banned in the West, but it regained popularity among fighters in Syria and Iraq who wanted to boost their attention levels.

  While the bulk of the amphetamine is bound for wealthier Gulf markets, there are warning signs it is increasingly finding its way onto the streets of Jordan, where economic stagnation and youth unemployment provide fertile ground.

  This is one of two government-run rehabilitation centers providing free treatment without criminalizing those who voluntarily turn themselves in. We're not allowed to interview any patients on camera, but the center's director blames addiction on personal, rather than structural issues.

• Yazan Barnawi, Jordanian Government Rehabilitation Center (through translator):

  The main reasons are the environment, parents' pressure, weakness in the personality, or a friend who introduces him.

• Simona Foltyn:

  The view from the street is markedly different.

  We traveled to slumps north of the capital, Amman, an area mostly home to Palestinian refugees, who make up around half of Jordan's population, but remain shut out from its economy. Many here are afraid to speak, in fear of authorities.

  This young man has been arrested twice for drug use and agrees to be interviewed on condition we hide his identity.

• Speaker (through translator):

  We are all unemployed here. If I want to work as a trash collector, I must pay $2,800 as a bribe to get the job. Without connections, there's no way.

• Simona Foltyn:

  For many of these men, selling drugs is the only way to survive.

• Speaker (through translator):

  The best work here is drugs. If someone has five kids, what can he do? He will buy and sell drugs, so as to feed them.

• Simona Foltyn:

  Jordan has thus far tried to tackle the problem through a security approach, focusing on sealing its borders.

  But without addressing the structural issues fueling demand in Jordan and the Gulf, as well as supply across the border in Syria, the fight against the regional drug trade is likely to remain an uphill battle.

  For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Simona Foltyn in Jordan.