Syria seizes over four million Captagon pills in Latakia
Shafaq News/ Syrian authorities announced Monday the seizure of more than four million Captagon pills in the coastal city of Latakia.
According to the Interior Ministry, the narcotics were hidden inside industrial tahini-production equipment intended for smuggling abroad.
The individuals involved were arrested and referred for investigation under the supervision of the public prosecutor, while the smuggling equipment was also confiscated.
في عملية نوعية مشتركة بين مديرية أمن اللاذقية وإدارة مكافحة المخدرات، تمكّنت الجهات المختصة من ضبط أربعة ملايين حبة كبتاغون مخدّرة، كانت مخبأة بإحكام داخل آلات صناعية، تمهيداً لتهريبها إلى خارج البلاد.https://t.co/2yknmdeEIO#الجمهورية_العربية_السورية#وزارة_الداخلية
— وزارة الداخلية السورية (@syrianmoi) May 19, 2025
The seizure comes less than a week after authorities intercepted another shipment of nine million Captagon pills bound for Turkiye.
Captagon—a powerful amphetamine-type stimulant—has emerged as Syria’s most lucrative illicit export. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the country has become the primary global hub for its production and distribution. In its March 2024 report, the UNODC noted that Syria accounted for nearly 82% of Captagon seizures across the Middle East in 2023, with neighboring Lebanon contributing 17%.
A 2021 assessment by the Center for Operational Analysis and Research (COAR) valued Syria’s Captagon economy at between $5.7B and $57B annually, exceeding the combined value of its legal exports. The industry took root during the country’s prolonged civil conflict and has been linked to facilities in key government-controlled areas, including Homs, Latakia, and the outskirts of Damascus.
While investigative reports have linked elements of the former regime’s security forces—including the Syrian Army’s elite Fourth Division—to the Captagon trade, the Al-Assad regime consistently denied any official involvement.
Since the transition of power to Transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the new government has vowed to dismantle the entrenched drug networks. In a recent televised speech, al-Sharaa acknowledged that Syria had become "the world’s largest Captagon producer" and pledged to "cleanse the country of this illicit trade."
Nonetheless, the problem persists across borders. Iraq, a key transit corridor for narcotics trafficked to Gulf states and Europe, reported a series of large seizures in recent weeks. Iraqi forces recently intercepted a shipment of 30,000 tablets near the western border, following the earlier confiscation of 1.1 tonnes of Captagon in a separate bust. UNODC data shows Iraq seized more than 24 million pills in 2023 alone, valued at up to $144 million.
