US EditionSynthetic Drug Market Disrupted in Syria After Regime Change
Syria's new government shut down 15 major Captagon labs to curb drug trade funding regime networks, while smaller production and seizures continue in the region, UNODC said.
- Since al-Assad's ouster a year ago, Syria's new authorities dismantled 15 industrial-level laboratories and 13 storage facilities, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said on Monday.
- Political pressure and diplomatic aims prompted the move by Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who seeks to legitimise his government after years when the Captagon trade generated billions linked to the former regime, according to Caroline Rose, amid scrutiny from Gulf states including Saudi Arabia.
- The UN Office on Drugs and Crime found the crackdown `drastically changed` the Captagon market, documenting at least 177 million tablets intercepted in the Arab region, equal to 30 tonnes.
- A year after the regime change, large-scale manufacturing has been disrupted, but significant stockpiles remain in circulation and smaller-scale production likely continues in Syria and neighbouring countries.
- Regional intelligence-sharing and joint operations have yielded `record` seizures this year, with regional governments cooperating despite traffickers using balloons and drones to cross borders.
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Devdiscourse
Synthetic drug market disrupted in Syria after regime change
Synthetic drug market disrupted in Syria after regime change Past geopolitical tensions related to the synthetic drug "captagon" are now being mitigated with the Syrian authorities' commitment to dismantle illicit manufacturing, says the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Captagon, a highly addictive stimulant, has been circulating illegally from the Middle East to Africa and back with 80 per cent of seizures since 2019 indicating…
United Nations Confirms Decline in Captagon Production in Syria
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a report on Monday, 22 December, assessing the state of Captagon production in Syria one year after the fall of the Assad regime. The report confirms a significant disruption in large-scale manufacturing operations. According to the UNODC, the Syrian government has dismantled 15 industrial laboratories and 13 smaller storage facilities used for Captagon production since December 2024.…
Large-scale illegal production of the synthetic drug Captagon in Syria has been halted a year after the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad's regime, the United Nations said.
Since the fall of the Syrian leader Assad a year ago, drug production in the country has been largely crushed.
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