DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities have seized more than 156,000 Captagon pills and arrested four suspected traffickers in two separate anti-drug operations on the country’s Mediterranean coast, state news agency SANA reported.
The larger operation took place in Latakia province, where Syria’s Drug Enforcement Department said officers arrested two suspects following a targeted security operation and confiscated 100,000 Captagon pills, 100 kg of hashish, and 5,000 pharmaceutical tablets.
According to the Interior Ministry, investigators are continuing to question the suspects to identify accomplices and dismantle the wider trafficking network before referring the case to the judiciary, SANA reported.
In a separate operation in neighboring Tartous province, authorities arrested two additional suspects and seized 56,000 Captagon pills allegedly intended for distribution.
The Drug Enforcement Department said the arrests followed close surveillance of the suspects’ movements before security forces intercepted them while they were transporting the narcotics.
The seized drugs were confiscated and the suspects referred to the judicial authorities.
Since the political transition that followed the fall of Bashar Assad’s government in late 2024, Syria’s new authorities have intensified efforts to curb drug trafficking and dismantle networks involved in the production and distribution of Captagon.
Captagon trafficking became one of the region’s largest illicit drug trades during Syria’s civil war, with neighboring countries repeatedly intercepting shipments believed to have originated in Syria. The former Syrian government consistently denied allegations that state institutions were involved in the trade.
The latest seizures bring the total amount of Captagon confiscated in the two operations to 156,000 pills, underscoring the authorities’ continuing efforts to disrupt trafficking networks, SANA reported.
Earlier this month, Syrian authorities announced the arrest of another suspected trafficker in Tartous, where officers seized 26 kg of hashish and a Kalashnikov assault rifle during a security operation.
