Jordanian security forces have seized 350,000 pills hidden in desert areas, a police spokesman said on Tuesday.
It was the latest announcement of a narcotics bust in the kingdom, which is engaged in a drugs war on its borders with Syria.
Spokesman Amer Al Sartawi said anti-narcotics personnel received a tip-off that the pills were stored in a remote area near Ruwaished, an eastern town on the Amman-Baghdad road, about 50km south of the border with Syria.
A search team found the pills in three large bags hidden among rocks.
"Investigations have started to apprehend the ring leader in the case, and his accomplices," said Mr Al Sartawi, without giving further details.
Ruwaished is inhabited by tribes who have traditionally formed the bedrock of the political system in Jordan.
Arab officials say that in the past five years the area has turned into a supply route for narcotics from areas under the control of the Syrian government in the south of the country to Jordan, and then to Saudi Arabia.
Jordan, which is also a market for the drugs, has accused the Syrian military and pro-Iranian militias allied with it of sponsoring the narcotics smuggling, particularly the amphetamine pills known as Captagon.
A Captagon pill is cheap to produce and can be sold for up to $20.
Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has denied that the authorities in the country have anything to do with the drugs. He blamed countries he did not name for the trade, as part of what he calls a deliberate creation of chaos in Syria.
In May, Mr Al Assad was invited to an Arab League summit, which was held in Riyadh, for the first time since the Syrian civil war started in late 2011, after security forces violently suppressed a protest movement against Mr Al Assad's 23-year rule.
Jordan has a 360-kilometre border with Syria that has been partly fenced. The US, and other western donors, have also spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the past several years helping the Jordanian military install surveillance and monitoring systems on the border.
The kingdom has supported the Arab rapprochement with Damascus, and indicated that Mr Al Assad must reciprocate by co-operating on the drug issue.
However, Jordan has continued to announce infiltration attempts from within Syria, the latest of which was at the start on this month, when the military said it intercepted a drone carrying crystal meth, a synthetic drug, from Syria.
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The biog
Siblings: five brothers and one sister
Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym
Favourite place: UAE
Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera
What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
if you go
The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.
The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
