New Syrian government moves to dismantle Assad’s $5bn narco-state

Syria’s new leadership under President Ahmed Al-Sharaa has launched an aggressive campaign to dismantle the vast captagon drug empire left behind by ousted dictator Bashar Al-Assad, whose regime transformed the country into one of the world’s largest narco-states. The drug trade, valued at over $5 billion annually, became a lifeline for Assad during the civil war, as sanctions and conflict crippled the economy.

“Today Syria is being cleansed of it, by the grace of Almighty God,” Al-Shara is reported saying by the Financial Times. According to law enforcement, regional officials and researchers, Syria’s captagon production and trafficking have dropped by as much as 80 per cent since the campaign began in December.

Captagon, an amphetamine-type stimulant, was originally developed in the 1960s by a German pharmaceutical firm. Banned globally today, it has flourished across the Middle East, consumed by Gulf partygoers, labourers, and soldiers alike. In Syria, its use became widespread among regime forces, with commanders reportedly lacing soldiers’ food and drink with the drug to suppress hunger and extend stamina on the battlefield.

Under Assad’s regime, the country’s pharmaceutical infrastructure, access to Mediterranean ports and protection for drug networks allowed the narcotics trade to flourish. Assad’s brother Maher Al-Assad, head of the Syrian army’s brutal Fourth Division, was allegedly central to the trade, granting military immunity to traffickers and converting regime facilities like the Mezzeh military airport into production hubs.

A former soldier now living in Damascus, recalled the drug’s powerful effect. “It gave me the burst of energy I needed to walk several hours to get home,” he told the FT. “It also gave me the courage, or, actually, delusion, to think I could fight off any of the rebels if I needed to.”

READ: In effort to strike Syria, US passes captagon sanctions bill

Despite the crackdown, the fight is far from over. Cheap captagon pills remain widely available in Damascus at about 30 cents each, with higher-quality versions selling for 30 times more in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Analysts warn that the illicit trade is resilient, with smuggling networks adapting quickly and corrupt officials undermining enforcement efforts.

“After the Assad regime fell, there was an expectation among some, even proclamations, that the captagon trade was ‘done’,” Caroline Rose of the New Lines Institute told the FT. “But… this illicit drug trade is far from over.”

Authorities have carried out widely publicised raids, uncovering hidden stashes in regime-linked villas and arresting major traffickers, including the dramatic June sting that captured Wassim Al-Assad, Bashar’s cousin, after he returned from Hizbollah-controlled Lebanon to retrieve cash and gold.

Yet, entrenched networks remain. Militias linked to Iran and Hizbollah, as well as tribal criminal syndicates in Sweida and Deir Ezzor, continue to operate smuggling routes using drones, rockets and remote-controlled balloons. Some areas, particularly those under Kurdish or sectarian control, remain beyond the reach of Al-Sharaa’s forces.

In border regions, Jordanian officials warn of increasing violence. “They used to never kill us, but now, they will shoot at whoever approaches the border at night,” a former smuggler said. One interior ministry official added: “In every captagon facility we bust, we’re finding so many weapons.”

Domestically, the social toll of Syria’s drug crisis is only beginning to surface. With just four addiction treatment centres across the country, services remain grossly inadequate. “It’s nowhere near enough to treat the extent of the problem in Syria,” said Dr Ghamdi Faral, director of Ibn Rushd hospital in Damascus.

The shortage of captagon has also triggered a shift to even more dangerous substitutes such as crystal meth. “The message is clear: there is no tolerance for drugs in new Syria,” a former dealer said. “But after everything we’ve been through, that’s not enough to stop us.”

READ: Jordan and Syria to tackle arms and drugs smuggling, and Daesh resurgence