Airline passenger nabbed with 5kg of cocaine

AMMAN — Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) agents have foiled an attempt to smuggle five kilogrammes of cocaine into Jordan through Queen Alia International Airport, official sources said on Monday.

The illegal drugs, which were destined for a neighbouring country, were in the possession of a South American man coming from Brazil via a Gulf country last week, according to a senior AND official.

“We have instructed our border agents to carefully search all passengers coming from countries known to be sources of illegal drug trafficking,” the official explained.

When the South American passenger arrived at the airport, AND agents conducted a thorough search of his luggage and “discovered the illegal narcotics hidden in secret pockets”, the official told the Jordan Times.

“The passenger tried to delude us by coming via a Gulf country, but we had a very good idea where he was coming from so we decided to search him carefully,” the official said, adding that the South American told investigators that he was planning to deliver the shipment to three men, two Jordanians and a Turkish national, in his hotel room.

“We escorted him to his hotel room and arrested the men when they arrived to receive the shipment without any major incident,” the official noted.

The four suspects were referred to the State Security Court prosecution for further questioning, according to a statement released by the Public Security Department.

The official estimated the price of the seized cocaine to be between JD60,000 to JD80,000.

In January, AND agents destroyed 12 kilogramme of cocaine that were seized by the department during a six-month span in 2013.