October 11, 2026
The Syrian authorities foiled a new attempt to smuggle Captagon pills coming from Lebanon through the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing, in the second operation of its kind within 48 hours, bringing the total number of seizures in the two operations to about 524 thousand pills.
The General Authority of Ports and Customs announced that, yesterday, Friday, Syrian customs seized about 129,000 Captagon pills that were on their way to Syrian territory, one day after 395,000 pills were seized. The authority confirmed that these two operations are part of efforts to combat drug smuggling and tighten control at border crossings to prevent the entry of narcotic substances into the country.
For its part, the Drug Control Administration explained that the last shipment coming from Lebanon through the Jdeidet Yabous port was hidden using complex camouflage methods, and that it was seized before arriving at its destination in the Damascus countryside, with those involved being arrested in preparation for referring them to the competent judiciary.
In a related context, last Thursday, the administration thwarted an attempt to smuggle 200,000 narcotic pills that were hidden inside refrigerated trucks heading to the Arab Gulf countries, where they confiscated the shipment and arrested those involved.
In Raqqa Governorate, cooperation between the Narcotics Control Administration and the Internal Security Forces resulted in the seizure of 27,200 “Zolam” pills, and the referral of one person to the competent judiciary. The security forces also arrested a number of those involved in the trade and use of narcotic substances during a security campaign that targeted the neighborhoods of Al-Bedouin Neighborhood, Al-Mashlab, and Al-Rumaila.
It is noteworthy that the Drug Enforcement Administration carried out 55 security operations last September, which resulted in the seizure of 4 million Captagon pills, 3.8 tons of hashish, and 39 kilograms of crystal. These efforts come as a continuation of the national campaign launched by the Ministries of Interior and Health on June 26 under the slogan “Syria Without Drugs,” coinciding with World Anti-Drug Day and in the presence of Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
