Syrian-Iraqi cooperation dismantles international drug smuggling network
The Ministry of Interior announced the dismantling of an "international" drug smuggling network with a regional reach and the seizure of large quantities of the narcotic Captagon, in a series of security operations it described as "qualitative" in the governorates of Rif Damascus and Homs.
The Ministry of Interior said in a statement on Sunday, April 26, through its official identifiers, that the operations resulted in the seizure of one million and 730 thousand pills of Captagon drug intended for smuggling to a neighboring country, and the arrest of 8 members of the network, including a woman.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Interior, the Anti-Narcotics Department carried out these operations in co-ordination with the General Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Affairs in Iraq, which resulted in the dismantling of a network that was active in smuggling large shipments of narcotic substances.
The Ministry of Interior pledged that the Anti-Narcotics Department will continue its specific operations in coordination with regional partners, with the aim of pursuing drug smuggling networks and tightening the necessary measures to prevent the infiltration of these poisons and limit their spread.
For its part, the Iraqi Interior Ministry confirmed on Sunday evening the implementation of a "qualitative" operation inside Syrian territory to dismantle an international drug smuggling network.
The General Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances of the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior stated that the operation was carried out in joint coordination with the Narcotics Control Department of the Syrian Arab Republic.
The Iraqi General Directorate of Narcotics Affairs indicated that it was able to arrest four suspects and seize one million and 730 thousand narcotic pills.
6 Previous joint operations with Iraq and the dismantling of cells
The Ministry of Interior revealed the implementation of 6 joint operations with Iraq at the beginning of this month, most notably the seizure of 2.5 million Captagon pills and the dismantling of an international network in January, and on April 8, the Syrian Ministry of Interior announced at the time the dismantling of drug smuggling networks that it described as "international", through joint security operations with the Iraqi side, which resulted in the seizure of about one million Captagon pills, in one of the most prominent operations announced during the recent period.
Prior to that, on October 22, 2025, the Syrian Ministry of Interior announced that the Anti-Narcotics Department had seized 108 kilograms of hashish and 1.27 million Captagon pills, in direct coordination with the General Directorate of Narcotics Control in Iraq.
The ministry pointed to an ambush on the Homs-Hama highway, during which a passenger bus was seized on April 21, 2026, containing 335,294 Captagon pills professionally hidden inside the tires, which was destined for the Gulf countries.
The Ministry of Interior revealed that it has raided 14 factories and warehouses in Damascus countryside, Homs and Latakia, and confiscated 122 tons of raw materials, since late 2024, in addition to dismantling 15 large industrial laboratories, which was reflected in a significant decline in the local ability to manufacture drugs, according to the ministry.
Syrian-Turkish cooperation against "Captagon"
According to the "World Drugs 2025" report, issued by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), small smuggling networks that have existed since the era of the former regime still have huge stockpiles and seek to discharge them across borders, turning the phenomenon into one of the "most prominent security problems on Syrian geography" at this stage.
In the context of cooperation with Turkey to eradicate drugs, the security authorities in Syria and Turkey carried out a joint operation targeting a ship in the port of Latakia, on Saturday, April 25, 2026, which resulted in the seizure of 236 kilograms of marijuana that was carefully hidden inside one of the containers on board.
Investigations revealed that Turkish intelligence had been following the ship's route since its departure from the Southeast Asian region, and according to security information, the ship took a long route that started from Asia to the port of Alexandria in Egypt, and then continued its journey to the Lebanese capital Beirut, before reaching its last stop in the port of Latakia, where the cargo was scheduled to be unloaded.