The Ministry of Interior dismantles a drug smuggling network in Rankous, north of Damascus

The Ministry of Interior announced the dismantling of an international drug smuggling network across the Syrian-Lebanese border and the seizure of quantities of Captagon pills in the Rankus area, about 45 km north of Damascus.

In a statement published on its official IDs, on Saturday, May 2, 2026, the Ministry said, "The Anti-Narcotics Department was able to dismantle an international smuggling network active in the border area of Rinkos, where it seized a large shipment of nearly one million Captagon pills and 1 kg of narcotic hashish that was coming from Lebanese territory with the intention of smuggling it through Syria towards neighboring countries.

The ministry revealed the arrest of "3 prominent members of the network, namely: A.S., M.B., and A.A., who were in charge of transportation and logistical coordination," and published their photos and the narcotic substances it seized in their possession.

The Interior Ministry confirmed that  the units of the Counter-Terrorism Directorate "  seized old sites that were used to manufacture Captagon pills containing quantities of raw materials, advanced machinery and logistical equipment, and  arrested the main person in charge of these sites, namely: (A.A.), who was duly referred to the competent judiciary."

Drug dealer arrested for impersonating security in Jaramana

Anti-narcotics units carried out a meticulous security operation in the city of Jaramana, during which they caught a drug dealer who was impersonating a security officer to facilitate his criminal acts in promoting and transporting narcotics, according to a statement from the Ministry of Interior.

These field operations are the result of close coordination between the various units of the Ministry of Interior and the Border Guard forces to strike at the joints of criminal networks. The Anti-Narcotics Department affirms that it will continue to perform its national duty to track and strike all the hotspots and sources of narcotic toxins, and to protect the community from their dangers.

The ministry considered that these field operations are the result of close coordination between the various units of the Ministry of Interior and the border guard forces to strike at the joints of criminal networks, reaffirming that  the Anti-Narcotics Department continues to perform its national duty to track down and "strike all the hotbeds and sources of narcotic poisons and protect the community from their dangers."

Ministry of Interior: 10 million Captagon pills seized since the beginning of 2026

In its report for the first quarter of 2026,  the Ministry of Interior announced the implementation of 205 successful operations that resulted in the seizure of huge quantities of narcotic substances, including more than 10 million Captagon pills.In a statement published on its official IDs  at the beginning of April, it stated that it had confiscated about a ton of hashish, in addition to large quantities of crystal amounting to 4.7 kilograms, about 173 kilograms of cocaine, in addition to thousands of narcotic pills.

The ministry devoted a part of its statement to the outcome of the work of the Anti-Narcotics Department in the field of pursuing drug smugglers, pointing to the arrest of Fayyad al-Ghanim, one of the most prominent drug traffickers at the international level and the right-hand man of former security leaders in the former regime, in a move that was considered a strong blow to the cross-border networks.

The ministry confirmed that the security services dismantled a local cell of 23 people, including 14 girls, who were exploiting addicts in illegal activities, and the Damascus countryside witnessed another operation during which 3 people involved in transporting drugs from Lebanon were arrested, in addition to the arrest of the leader of a network responsible for previous huge shipments that included hundreds of thousands of pills and 100 kilograms of hashish.

Syrian-Turkish cooperation in the fight against drugs

Security authorities in Syria and Turkey seized 236 kilograms of marijuana on a ship in the port of Latakia, on Saturday, April 25, 2026, during a joint operation in high-level coordination between  the Turkish intelligence service and the Customs Guard Directorate of the Turkish Ministry of Commerce, in field cooperation with the anti-narcotics units of the Syrian Ministry of Interior.

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.

Upon arrival at the Syrian port, accurate intelligence was shared with the Syrian authorities, enabling the successful implementation of the joint operation.