Enab Baladi – Muwafaq al-Khouja

The trade of Captagon and its smuggling operations have noticeably declined following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, after he had been the leader of a network for manufacturing and smuggling the substance. However, smuggling operations are still ongoing, with announcements from the new authorities about seizing laboratories and warehouses containing large quantities of narcotic pills, thwarting smuggling operations, and arresting dealers and promoters.

Questions arise about whether the new Syrian administration can prevent the production of Assad’s illicit commodity that crosses borders and is managed by international networks.

In the last years of the ousted Assad’s rule, factories for producing the narcotic substance Captagon spread across Syria, with allegations against Bashar’s brother, Maher al-Assad, of utilizing them to fund his personal budget and support the regime’s former ally, Hezbollah in Lebanon.

After the regime’s fall on December 8, 2024, the new authorities revealed locations related to the Fourth Division, which was led by Maher al-Assad, the brother of the ousted president Bashar, or directly linked to him or close associates.

An Enab Baladi correspondent monitored a factory for producing Captagon near the city of Douma, containing hundreds of thousands of narcotic pills hidden inside electrical appliances (power regulators) or fruits, and ready for export.

According to the factory owner’s discussion with the Enab Baladi correspondent, individuals affiliated with Maher al-Assad seized the facility, and the latter rejected returning his property despite his complaints.

“A qualitative development”

Nawar Shaaban, a researcher at the Harmoon Center for Contemporary Studies, told Enab Baladi that the developments in combating Captagon by the new authorities after the regime’s fall signify “a qualitative development.”

Shaaban added that despite the limited capabilities and the scattered tasks assigned to the new administration, both in security stabilization and military and administrative matters, the improvement is striking and evident.

On the other hand, Shaaban believes that the new administration cannot fully control the manufacturing and smuggling of Captagon because no state has succeeded in curbing drug trade due to its links to international networks.

These networks relate to issues associated with terrorism, arms sales, human trafficking, and war and crisis merchants, according to researcher Shaaban.

Jordanian analyst specializing in Syrian affairs, Salah Malakawi, sees that the production and smuggling operations of Captagon will weaken for a period but will not stop because many small factories in Syria and Lebanon still exist.

Malakawi confirmed that the decrease in Captagon production is due to the weakening supply lines transporting these materials to the Syrian coast or to Jordanian territory.

Production line continues

Similarly, Jordanian strategic researcher Dr. Amer al-Sabaileh believes that the production and smuggling operations of Captagon have not been affected, but there are efforts to control the traditional smuggling routes.

Al-Sabaileh sees what happened in the Captagon smuggling sector after the regime’s fall as a temporary effect due to disruptions in Syria, adding that matters will take time to clarify again.

The Ministry of Interior of the interim Damascus government announces the arrest of promoters and drug smugglers in various Syrian regions.

The latest operations, up to the moment of the report’s release, were on January 21 of the current year, when the Ministry of Interior of the interim Damascus government seized a warehouse for storing narcotic pills in the Suboura area of western Damascus, stating that it is linked to Maher al-Assad.

Additionally, the Syrian Interior Ministry seized, on January 19, a shipment of Captagon pills estimated at 100 million pills, which were prepared for smuggling to various Arab and Western countries via the port of Latakia.

The ministry’s media office stated that quantities of Captagon pills and narcotic powder were packed inside children’s toys in warehouses owned by Maher al-Assad.

Researcher at the Harmoon Center, Nawar Shaaban, stated that these elements still trying to smuggle Captagon do not necessarily have to be affiliated with the previous regime, although it previously dominated the sector.

Shaaban clarified that in drug trade, there are suppliers for raw materials, then manufacturers and traders, ending with the consumer who will look for alternatives.

Shaaban believes that what has changed now is that the state that used to sponsor the manufacturing of narcotic substances has now become an opponent of it, affecting production processes and limiting them.

It cannot be said that Captagon smuggling has ended with the fall of al-Assad, but it can be said that the state’s involvement that protected the Captagon trafficking has ceased, and state forces and instruments will turn into a weapon against this process, which will reduce its activity.

Nawar Shaaban, Researcher at the Harmoon Center for Contemporary Studies

The regime is not alone

Al-Sabaileh believes that the previous regime was not the only one involved in the manufacturing and smuggling of Captagon, but it operated directly in it.

He stated that many parties still hold the reins of this trade and may play a role amid these ongoing transformations, maintaining their positions.

Researcher Shaaban agrees with al-Sabaileh’s view that the regime was not alone in the Captagon production and export system; it was part of a “terroristic” operational system. With the regime’s fall, the manufacturing and exporting entity of the narcotic substance collapses, leaving only suppliers of raw materials and consumers for whom this operation is intended.

Al-Sabaileh said that there will be a phase of struggle over smuggling routes and the emergence of new players.

He added that when drug trade spreads widely, it indicates that it has become linked to regional and international networks, and thus they would want to maintain this trade, merely changing its actors without regard to the nature of changes happening in Syria.

According to Shaaban, both the supplier and the consumer are also part of the global system, which will seek alternative methods amid a fear of an unstable security environment and attempts by the new authority to control the situation.

Jordan: The land route for Captagon

Jordan, Syria’s southern neighbor, is considered the main outlet for smuggling the narcotic substance and exporting it over land. It has announced dozens of times that it has thwarted Captagon shipments over the past years, some through the official border crossing Jaber-Nassib, and others through illegal passages.

Jordan has been a transit point for Captagon trade heading to other countries, especially Gulf nations, primarily Saudi Arabia.

Following the fall of the regime, smuggling operations along the southern border with Jordan continued, evolving into clashes and airstrikes within Syrian territories.

Jordan announced on January 12 that clashes occurred between its forces at the border and armed groups of smugglers, with Amman stating that they attempted to cross the border.

The clashes resulted in the death of one smuggler, while others fled back into Syrian territory. Concurrently, one member of the Jordanian army was injured, as reported by the Jordanian Al-Mamlaka channel.

Moreover, warplanes struck houses suspected to belong to drug traffickers in the al-Shieab area of rural As-Suwayda in mid-January.

Media outlets speculated that these warplanes were Jordanian, although the latter did not comment on the strike.

Al-Sabaileh indicated that challenges still exist for Jordan and may become more severe in the upcoming phase due to changes in the parties overseeing the Captagon manufacturing and their methods.

Al-Sabaileh believes that Amman will resort to displaying a certain degree of firmness concerning this issue.

He noted that altering the rules of engagement is one of the messages indicating what he terms “Jordanian firmness” in addressing this phenomenon before it escalates and turns into an unmanageable issue.

Jordan always hints at what it calls “changing the rules of engagement” and refers to military action against smugglers outside its northern and eastern borders.

During the previous regime, Jordan frequently bombed inside Syria targeting locations and hideouts for drug traffickers.

In May 2023, Jordan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ayman Safadi, threatened military action inside Syria if it could not stop the flow of drugs into Gulf countries and globally.

On the other hand, Jordanian political analyst Malakawi stated to Enab Baladi that Jordan was also one of the affected parties in addition to other countries.

He added that Jordan used approximately 15% of what entered its territories in narcotic substances, while the remaining quantity was re-exported towards Saudi Arabia and the Gulf nations.

Malakawi sees that what is being smuggled into Jordan is a trivial part of what the previous regime produced, while the bulk is smuggled by sea towards Europe and East Asia.