Jordan and Syria Seize 943 Kilograms of Captagon Dough, Stop 5.5 Million Pill Smuggling

Jordan and Syria’s Drug Enforcement Administrations announced on Thursday that they carried out a joint security and intelligence operation that thwarted an attempt to smuggle 5.5 million narcotic pills across the Jaber border crossing.

“A few months after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, the outlines of a new phase began to take shape in Syria's drug trade, as parties emerged seeking to inherit the influence once wielded by the previous regime as part of what was known as the 'Captagon economy'”

Al-Jazeera Net

The statement said investigative teams identified the network’s targets and modus operandi, which relied on a new method using a large cargo vehicle (refrigerated truck).

Al-Jazeera Net

According to the statement, the vehicle was placed under surveillance and monitoring until it entered the Jaber crossing, where it was immediately stopped in coordination with Jordanian customs and security agencies and its driver arrested.

A specialized team inside the crossing inspected the cargo vehicle and seized 943 kilograms of Captagon in dough-like cubes hidden in the vehicle’s ceiling.

The statement added that tests showed the quantity is a raw material for Captagon pills before shaping and is enough to produce about 5.5 million narcotic pills.

The Syrian Ministry of Interior said the joint operation by the Syrian Drug Enforcement Administration with its Jordanian counterpart came after intelligence coordination and information sharing for a period that exceeded weeks.

In a press release, the ministry stated: “Continued cooperation and coordination with security agencies in sister and friendly countries, within the framework of joint efforts to combat the drug scourge, and pursuing cross-border criminal networks, contributing to protecting society and strengthening security and stability.”

Shafaq News

Al-Jazeera Net described a new phase in Syria’s drug trade after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, saying parties sought to inherit influence from what it called the 'Captagon economy'.

It also said Jordanian security sources indicate the rise of the Hukmat al-Hijri group, benefiting from the collapse of the former Syrian regime's structure to reorganize smuggling networks and expand its activity across borders.

The same article quoted Fahd al-Khitan saying a senior Jordanian official described the coordination mechanism between the two sides as extremely effective, with a shared political will to eliminate the threat left by the previous regime.

Enab Baladi reported that on Saturday, May 2, Syria’s Drug Enforcement Administration carried out security operations in the Damascus countryside that dismantled an international drug-trafficking link and uncovered secret manufacturing premises.

“Shafaq News - Damascus/Amman”

Shafaq News

It said the agency also carried out a precise security operation in the city of Jaramana that resulted in the arrest of a drug trafficker who used to impersonate a security officer to facilitate his criminal activities.

Hours after those operations, Jordanian warplanes carried out airstrikes in the Sweida governorate, hitting areas including the town of Milh, the village of Busan, two airstrikes in the city of Shahba, and strikes near the village Imtan and in the villages of al-Kafr, the town of Arman, and al-Anahat.

Separately, the Jordanian Armed Forces claimed responsibility in the early hours of Sunday, May 3, for the Jordanian Deterrence Operation targeting sites of weapon and drug traffickers along the kingdom’s northern border front.

Al-Jazeera Net framed the stakes by saying official estimates warn that the drug economy has long contributed to the creation of parallel entities within states, threatening the territorial integrity and sovereignty of central governments.