Once Run by Maher al-Assad: Has Syria’s New Leadership Halted Drug Smuggling?

Since the ousting of Bashar al-Assad's regime, Syria’s new administration has concentrated its efforts on dismantling the country’s drug trade, a sector that fueled the economy of the former regime for years.

In addition to protecting Syrian society from this severe threat, the new leadership seeks to send a clear message to the international community by dismantling the drug trade infrastructure, which had wreaked havoc globally after Assad's regime transformed the country into a “drug factory.”

Following the fall of Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024, authorities uncovered warehouses and residences used for drug production, directly tied to Maher al-Assad, Bashar’s brother. These facilities were found across rural Damascus and Syria’s coastal regions.

A Determined Effort

Large quantities of narcotics were discovered in warehouses linked to the Fourth Division, which Maher al-Assad commanded. The drugs were concealed in innovative ways—inside wooden panels, electronic devices, food items, furniture, and even fruit—ready for export.

In the final years of the Assad regime, neighboring countries repeatedly warned about the expansion of Syria’s Captagon production and its impact on their territories.

Key players in the drug trade were personally connected to the Assad family hierarchy, with many facing sanctions from the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom for their roles in narcotics trafficking.

For years, networks protected by the Assad regime smuggled drugs from Syria and Lebanon to destinations worldwide, using land and sea routes through Jordan, Iraq, Turkiye, and the Gulf. Saudi Arabia emerged as the primary market for Captagon.

Jordan has reported that 85% of the drugs seized on its soil originate from Syria, destined exclusively for smuggling into Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. Southern Syria’s as-Suwayda and Daraa provinces have become critical hubs for trafficking Captagon pills into Jordan.

Investigative journalism and media reports have played a crucial role in exposing Syria’s drug trade in recent years, directly implicating Maher al-Assad in its operations.

In response, the U.S. Congress passed legislation outlining a strategy to halt drug production and dismantle networks tied to Bashar al-Assad’s now-defunct regime. The bill was incorporated into the 2023 Defense Department budget, approved by the Senate on December 15, 2022, with support from 83 senators and opposition from 11.

British government spokesperson Rosie Dyas revealed in a tweet on March 28, 2023, that the former Syrian regime’s drug trade generated annual revenues of $57 billion. Similarly, a July 2024 report by the Carnegie Middle East Center highlighted that the Assad regime used drug trafficking to fund its war machine, pay soldiers, enrich the Assad family, and leverage political support by pressuring other nations.

Following Assad's downfall, the Military Operations Command launched targeted missions to destroy drug production sites and facilities prepared for export. Footage emerged showing large quantities of narcotics being disposed of in sewage systems and Captagon pills being destroyed at multiple sites previously controlled by the regime.

From Damascus’s Mezzeh Military Airport to residences linked to regime figures like Maher al-Assad, vast amounts of drugs were uncovered and eradicated, marking a significant step in dismantling the infrastructure of Syria’s infamous drug trade.

On December 25, 2024, Syria’s new General Intelligence Directorate announced the discovery of a drug warehouse during a sweep of Damascus, specifically in the secure Kafar Sousah district.

Approximately one million pills were found and immediately burned by security forces. Additional quantities of cannabis, tramadol boxes, and around 50 small bags of pink Captagon pills were also set ablaze.

Near the Syrian-Lebanese border, authorities destroyed another stockpile of Captagon pills but retained raw materials, following advice that these substances could potentially be used for pharmaceutical production.

Drug manufacturing equipment was uncovered inside chocolate and potato chip factories, where pills had been concealed. In another location near Damascus, a storage site contained industrial quantities of hydrochloric and acetic acids, key chemicals used in Captagon production.

Captagon pills, valued between $2 and $20 each depending on the market, became a hallmark of Syria’s narcotics industry under the Assad regime. According to the World Bank, Syria was classified as a regional hub for the drug trade during that era, with an estimated domestic market value of $5.6 billion annually.

A Promising Start

Observers consider these efforts among the notable achievements of the new administration in its early days.

The drug smuggling issue, long unsolved by Arab nations during negotiations with the ousted regime, had been deflected by Assad’s government, which blamed “rogue groups” while claiming to combat the trade. This swift crackdown marks a significant shift in tackling a regional crisis.

Under Bashar al-Assad, the Captagon trade was wielded as a tool against neighboring Arab countries, some of which sought to end al-Assad’s isolation in hopes of stemming the drug’s flow, according to an Associated Press report from June 2024.

Hesham Alghannam, a Carnegie Endowment researcher, noted that Captagon fueled a drug abuse epidemic in the wealthy Gulf states, threatening social stability. In a July 2024 study, he explained how Assad exploited Captagon smuggling to pressure Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia, into reintegrating Syria into the Arab world. This goal was achieved in 2023 when Syria rejoined the Arab League.

On January 7, 2025, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi met with Asaad al-Shaibani, Foreign Minister of Syria’s new administration, in Amman to discuss the threat of drug smuggling to the kingdom. Al-Shaibani assured him, stating, “The new situation in Syria ended the threats posed to Jordan’s security.”

According to AFP, a Saudi delegation also met with the new Syrian leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Damascus following Assad’s fall, addressing Captagon and broader regional issues.

The Assad regime’s profitable drug trade, which funded its oppressive and corrupt system, now appears to have crumbled alongside it. Syria’s new administration has firmly declared there is “no place for Captagon in Syria’s future.”

In parallel with dismantling drug factories, authorities have pursued traffickers, working closely with local communities who suffered under networks tied to the regime’s intelligence apparatus.

Observers highlight that affected nations like Jordan and Saudi Arabia may support Syria’s new administration in eradicating the trade. Jordan, for instance, has amassed detailed intelligence on names and networks behind the trade, even conducting airstrikes on Syrian soil in January 2024 to target drug facilities and individuals, including alleged trafficker Marei al-Ramthan.

A Note for the World

Efforts to combat the drug trade are also seen as a step toward garnering support for Syria’s institutions while mitigating its harmful effects on human security in the Middle East.

In a Damascus suburb, Abu Bilal—a farmer—was able to return to his home after Assad’s fall. His house stood next to a villa owned by a Fourth Division officer named Baseem, which had been converted into a drug lab.

“Baseem was the big boy here in this area and he instilled fear in everyone who lived here, everything was out of bounds,” Abu Bilal told Sky News reporters.

“I was honestly shocked when I found out about the drugs here, about these terrible operations that were destroying the country. We didn't know anything about these drugs.”

Syrian businessman Fares al-Tout said his family had owned the factory before Syria's civil war, when it was built to produce potato chips branded Captain Korn.

He said it was seized in 2018 by a businessman close to Maher, Amer al-Khiti.

“They flipped it from the production of food to the production of Captagon that killed Syria's children in support of the Fourth Division,” al-Tout told Reuters.

On January 7, 2025, the Lebanese army reported coming under fire from Syrian gunmen while working to shut down an “illegal crossing” on the eastern border with Syria.

The clash occurred as Syria’s Military Operations Command pursued smugglers near the Lebanese border, part of its broader effort to dismantle the drug trade.