AMMAN — Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) personnel on Wednesday thwarted an attempt to smuggle a huge shipment of illegal drugs over the Jordanian-Syrian border, according to an official source.

AND agents seized 44 kilogrammes of heroin, 120 kilogrammes of hashish, and one million Captagon pills after exchanging fire with seven smugglers near the Hurra Desert area at dawn on Wednesday, Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. Col. Mohammad Khatib said.

“No one was injured in the incident and the seven smugglers abandoned the illicit drugs and headed back to Syria,” the police official said.

AND agents had recently received a tip that a group of people was planning to smuggle a large shipment of illicit drugs into Jordan to transport to a neighbouring country, Khatib added.

“We monitored the area very closely and used advanced equipment and manpower to abort the operation,” he noted.

On Wednesday, AND agents waited near the border and “the minute the group attempted to cross into Jordan using camels and horses there was an exchange of fire and they were forced to leave everything behind and escape,” Khatib elaborated.

He added that police are investigating the incident to determine the identity of the seven men and whether any Jordanians were involved in the smuggling operation.