Syria’s Message on International Drug Day
On the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Syria announced that it has transformed from a 'Captagon hub' into a 'partner in combating drugs'. The official Syrian Arab News Agency SANA reported that this year's event was held under the slogan 'The global drug problem: ongoing issues, new challenges and innovative responses'.
New Era After Assad
SANA stated that after the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad's government, Syria accelerated its efforts to dismantle drug production and trafficking networks. Using the words 'After years in which Syria was one of the world's leading Captagon production and trafficking centers under the old regime, the country entered a new phase after liberation,' SANA reported that this phase focuses on dismantling drug factories, tracking trafficking networks and expanding international cooperation, thus turning Syria from a 'source of threat into an active partner in combating drugs'.
UNODC Confirmed: Captagon Production Halted
According to SANA's report, in December 2025, one year after the fall of the Assad government, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) confirmed that large-scale Captagon production in Syria had been halted. The Syrian government has destroyed 15 Captagon production facilities and 13 smaller storage areas since December 2024. In its 2026 report, UNODC warned that the disruption of the Captagon market after Assad's fall had increased pill prices in some regions and that some users might turn to other synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine.
National Campaign 'Syria Without Drugs'
In an initiative timed to coincide with International Day Against Drug Abuse, the ministries of interior and health launched a national campaign under the slogan 'Syria Without Drugs'. The head of the Anti-Narcotics Directorate, Brigadier General Khalid Id, said in an interview with Syrian television that 'A Syria without drugs is not just a slogan but a scientifically and carefully planned national project'.
Id stated that the campaign is based on a balance between deterrence and treatment, saying, 'While the user is seen as a victim in need of care, the seller and trafficker are treated as criminals who must be punished.' Noting that the Ministry of Interior has faced a 'complex reality' with local production centers and distribution networks targeting young people in recent months, Id stressed that this situation requires stronger security controls, stricter checks at border crossings, narcotics units equipped with modern monitoring technology, and an integrated database on active networks.
Major Operations and Seizures
According to SANA, the Syrian Anti-Narcotics Directorate has carried out 1,550 drug seizure and prevention operations since Assad's fall. As a result of the operations, 90 international trafficking networks were dismantled and 17 Captagon factories were closed.
According to information provided by Brigadier General Id, the seized substances are:
- 697 million Captagon pills
- 15 tons of cannabis
- 10 million narcotic pharmaceutical pills
- 180 kg of cocaine
- 84.5 kg of crystal meth
- 7 kg of heroin
- 221 tons of chemical precursor substances
UNDOF Mandate Extended at UN Security Council
Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously renewed the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan during a session on Thursday.
Syria's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ibrahim Olabi, said in his speech at the session that Syria is now one of the most stable countries in the region, busy with 'reconstruction, restoration of institutions and attracting investment'. Olabi also highlighted cooperation with international partners on counter-terrorism, chemical weapons obligations and regional security.
Olabi also touched on the political change in Syria, saying, 'The change in Syria is represented by the disappearance of a regime that used torture and chemical weapons.' Regarding Israel's statements about 'not withdrawing from Syria', Olabi expressed Syria's concern, stating 'Israel's current actions can be interpreted as an attempt to seize the occupied territories.' Olabi noted that the change Israel fears is 'the disappearance of an authoritarian regime that used chemical weapons against its own people' and questioned whether Israel preferred the situation during the Assad era.
UNDOF was established under the Disengagement Agreement signed between Syria and Israel in 1974 after the October 1973 war. The force has since been tasked with monitoring compliance with the ceasefire in the buffer zone in the Syrian Golan Heights, which Israel has held under occupation since 1967.
