Shafaq News – Damascus

A 10-member network involved in drug and weapons trafficking was dismantled in Damascus, Mohammad Al-Suwaidi, head of the city’s Anti-Narcotics Division, announced on Tuesday.

Al-Suwaidi told reporters that the crackdown followed a series of coordinated raids across multiple locations in the capital and its suburbs, resulting in the seizure of significant quantities of narcotics and weapons.

“One of the traffickers was initially arrested with 200,000 Captagon pills, and authorities later identified the remaining members of the network,” Al-Suwaidi explained.

The enforcement effort yielded approximately 500,000 Captagon pills, 12 kilograms of hashish, 3 kilograms of heroin, and 1 kilogram of crystal meth, along with two Kalashnikov rifles and a pistol recovered from the suspects.

This action is part of a broader campaign of security initiatives in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq in recent months. Specialized agencies have carried out multiple targeted strikes against trafficking networks, including the capture of international drug dealers in Syria during a coordinated effort between the Iraqi Interior Ministry and the Syrian Anti-Narcotics Division.

The Iraqi Interior Ministry confirmed that the operation was guided by precise intelligence. An Iraqi task force entered Syrian territory, apprehending suspects in possession of 57 kilograms of hashish intended for smuggling into Iraq.

Earlier in 2025, authorities seized 12 million Captagon pills near Dumayr in rural Damascus, marking one of the largest anti-narcotics actions of the year. Authorities also thwarted attempts to smuggle 3 million Captagon pills and 50 kilograms of hashish at a checkpoint near the Lebanon border in rural Damascus.