For the first time, Syria’s Anti-Narcotics Directorate and Turkish intelligence carried out a joint operation to seize a large quantity of drugs in the Damascus countryside.
On September 2, the Syrian Interior Ministry announced the confiscation of 500 kilograms of raw materials used in drug production and a significant amount of Captagon pills in Yaafour (Damascus countryside).
The ministry explained on its official Facebook page that the operation was executed in coordination between Syria’s Anti-Narcotics Directorate and Turkish intelligence.
The seized substances had been concealed inside food products packed in plastic containers and in large pots buried underground.
Authorities confirmed that all the narcotics were confiscated and all those involved were arrested and referred to the competent judicial authorities.
The Interior Ministry emphasized that the Anti-Narcotics Directorate continues its efforts to combat smuggling networks, drug trafficking, and the spread of narcotics.
Regional Cooperation
The Syrian-Turkish cooperation on drug enforcement comes as part of wider coordination between Syria’s Anti-Narcotics Directorate and neighboring states.
In July, the directorate, in coordination with Iraq’s General Directorate of Narcotics Control, carried out a security operation that led to the seizure of 1.35 million Captagon pills intended for smuggling out of Syria. Several suspects were arrested and referred to the judiciary.
On August 25, the Anti-Narcotics branch in Damascus countryside, in coordination with the Border Guard Directorate in Zabadani (west of Damascus), thwarted a smuggling attempt from Lebanon, seizing around 498 packs of hashish and 198 bags of narcotic pills. Security forces clashed with the smugglers, who abandoned the load and fled back toward Lebanon.
The ministry described these operations as part of its ongoing efforts to reduce drug trafficking and protect public safety.
UN Warning
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in its World Drug Report 2025, warned that Syria remains a central hub for drug production and trafficking, despite the fall of the Assad regime, which had long benefited from Captagon manufacturing and trade.
The report, released in June, noted that while the current Syrian government opposes drug trafficking and has pledged to dismantle supply chains, destroying large quantities of seized Captagon in public, Syria still plays a major role in regional narcotics flows.
It added that Captagon continues to be smuggled primarily to Gulf states in 2024–2025, suggesting either the release of stockpiled quantities or continued production at undisclosed sites.
Angela Me, Chief of the Social Affairs Division at UNODC, told reporters that much uncertainty surrounds the Syrian narcotics file. While caches are still being shipped abroad, the office is studying possible shifts in production, noting signs of regional expansion with laboratories discovered in Libya.
She stressed that drug trafficking groups in Syria and across the region have long managed the Captagon trade, and production is unlikely to stop within weeks or months.
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