- Source: Syrian Captagon industry
The Syrian Captagon industry is responsible for about 80% of the global production of the Captagon drug. Syria exports the drug to various countries, mainly in the Middle East region, including Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Gulf states, and Egypt. The drug export was one of the main sources of income for the government of Bashar al-Assad, helping it to prop up the economy during the Syrian Civil War.
After the fall of the Assad regime the new Syrian transitional government ordered the cessation of the drug trade; the flow had reportedly reduced by at least 90% shortly before Assad's overthrow.
Background
The overwhelming majority of Captagon pills are produced in Syria, and a small portion in Lebanon. According to estimates, the drug trade amounts to billions of dollars.
Export of the drug to Middle Eastern countries
Based on 2023 estimates, about 80% of Captagon is produced in Syria and exported from the port of Latakia with the assistance of the Syrian government under the command of Maher al-Assad. Estimates suggest that the Captagon trade market ranges from $5.7 billion to $57 billion. Over the years, hundreds of millions of Captagon pills have been smuggled into Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Gulf countries. One of the main smuggling routes is through the Anbar province, which borders Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. In 2021, more than 250 million Captagon pills were seized worldwide, 18 times more than the number of pills seized in 2017. Additionally, according to Al Jazeera, in 2022, Jordan seized 65 million Captagon pills in Syria en route to its territory. In 2015, the Secretary of Saudi Arabia's National Committee for Drug Control reported that the majority of Captagon consumers are aged 12 to 22.
In May 2023, a summit was held in Jeddah where the Arab League countries reached an agreement on normalization with Syria and lifting the embargo on it following the civil war in Syria, in exchange for suppressing Captagon smuggling from it to other countries in the region, which leads to increased drug consumption among young people, in turn leading to severe damage.
The drug was used by militants of the Islamic State during the November 2015 Paris attacks and Hamas during the 2023 attack on Israel.
= Jordan's response to the drug smuggling
=Following normalization, Syria allowed Jordan to attack drug smugglers within its territory several times, who were smuggling drugs to Jordan. The attacks focused mainly on the As-Suwayda district in southwestern Syria. In some cases, civilians were killed in the attacks, which raised local criticism of the government for not doing enough to stop the smuggling phenomenon and forcing Jordan to take military action there.
See also
Drug economy in Lebanon