Despite the fall of Assad, the illicit drug trade in Syria is far from over
news.un.org
When Bashar Al-Assad ruled Syria, his regime was widely accused of profiting from the production and trafficking of Captagon, an illicit synthetic drug that is most commonly abused by users in the Middle East.

Despite the current government’s hostility to the trade, the country remains a hub for the production and distribution of the drug.

During the country’s long-running civil war, the Assad regime was hit by sanctions and diplomatic isolation, and the trade in Captagon is believed to have brought in billions of dollars for the dictator and his allies.

The country’s attitude towards the trade changed markedly after the fall of Assad in December 2024, and the rise to power of a transitional government led by members of the Islamist group HTS and comprising members of many of Syria’s ethnic groups. The current administration has pledged to disrupt the supply chain and has demonstrated this by publicly destroying large quantities of seized Captagon.