Syria Seizes Record 11 Million Captagon Pills as Violence Flares in Sweida

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Syria’s Ministry of Interior announced on Tuesday the seizure of 11 million Captagon pills in a vehicle arriving from Lebanon in the countryside of Homs province, marking the largest drug bust reported by Syrian authorities since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s rule in December 2024. The announcement comes amid renewed violence in Sweida province, where two civilians were killed in an attack on a passenger bus, highlighting the country’s deepening insecurity and persistent lawlessness.

In a statement, the Syrian Interior Ministry confirmed that “the Anti-Narcotics Branch in Homs province managed to seize a vehicle coming from Lebanese territory containing approximately 11 million tablets of the narcotic Captagon in southern rural Homs.”
The ministry added that the narcotics and the vehicle used in the smuggling operation had been confiscated, and that authorities were “continuing necessary investigations to uncover the identities of those involved and determine the criminal networks connected to the operation.”

This operation marks the largest seizure of its kind since the end of Assad’s regime, underscoring the persistence of cross-border drug trafficking despite changes in political leadership. In June, Syrian authorities had intercepted three million Captagon pills following a gunfight with a smuggling cell reportedly coming from Lebanon into Syrian territory.

Captagon, a stimulant drug banned internationally, had become one of Syria’s most profitable illicit exports during the years of conflict following 2011, providing a major source of revenue for the previous regime. Although the new Syrian authorities have announced multiple drug seizures since Assad’s ouster, smuggling operations continue to flourish across the country’s porous borders.

On October 21, the Interior Ministry also revealed the confiscation of about 12 million Captagon pills from a trafficking network in rural Damascus and confirmed the arrest of its ringleader. Meanwhile, neighboring states continue to announce periodic seizures of large quantities of the same drug, reflecting the scale and regional reach of Syria’s narcotics trade.

While the authorities in Damascus celebrated the record drug bust, the country’s southern region was again shaken by violence. Two civilians were killed on Tuesday when gunmen opened fire on a passenger bus traveling along the Damascus–Sweida road, according to the Syrian state news agency (SANA).

The attack took place at a fuel station in the Marjana area and left several others wounded. SANA reported that “the competent authorities are pursuing the perpetrators and have transported the injured to nearby hospitals.”

Local platform Sweida 24 identified the victims as a woman named Aya Salam and a young man, Kamal Abdul Baqi, stating that the bus had been targeted on its return from Damascus within an area “under the deployment of General Security checkpoints.” The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that all passengers on the bus were members of the Druze community.

The Sweida Governorate issued a statement describing the assailants as “a group outside the law,” confirming that all concerned authorities had been mobilized to track those responsible.

This incident follows the violent clashes that erupted in Sweida between July 13 and July 20, when fighting broke out between Druze fighters and armed Bedouin groups. The situation escalated into heavy confrontations after the intervention of government forces and tribal militias. While Damascus claimed its forces intervened to stop the fighting, eyewitnesses, Druze factions, and the SOHR accused state forces of siding with the Bedouins and committing abuses against Druze civilians.

Although a ceasefire was later announced, tensions have persisted. The city of Sweida remains under the control of Druze armed groups, while government forces maintain a presence in surrounding areas.

The violence in Sweida has left a deep humanitarian and psychological toll on the province’s population. Survivors continue to recount harrowing stories of government raids, extrajudicial killings, and forced displacement.

According to the SOHR, several parts of Sweida remain under siege-like conditions, with residents facing shortages of food, medicine, and electricity, and living under constant fear and trauma.

T.M., a resident of Tha‘la village in the Sweida countryside, described how security forces turned his community into a war zone: “When the security forces entered our village, they opened fire to terrify the residents. They humiliated our elders — even cutting their mustaches — before looting homes and shops, and finally setting fire to what was left.”

He estimated that the village once housed around 8,000 people, most of whom have now been forcibly displaced. “It’s been twelve days under siege,” he added. “Snipers are stationed around us. No food, no medicine, no fuel, no electricity. We queue for hours just to get bread. All we ask is to open the Sweida–Damascus road and allow basic necessities to reach us.”

Another survivor, R.A. from Sweida city, gave an equally devastating account. “I am the only survivor from my family of fourteen,” she said, recalling how an armed group in military uniforms, believed to belong to the security forces, stormed her home. “They spoke in an Idlibi accent and shot my entire family before my eyes.”

R.A., wounded by two bullets, survived by pretending to be dead. “My mental state is shattered,” she said. “My family never carried weapons. They thought the men entering the house came to protect them, not to execute them.” She called for an independent investigation into the killings, describing the massacre as “a crime against unarmed civilians who had no role in the conflict.”

In September, Damascus announced a U.S. and Jordan-backed roadmap aimed at achieving reconciliation in Sweida, pledging accountability for those “whose hands are stained with blood.” Yet the local population remains skeptical, fearing continued impunity and repression.

Prominent Druze cleric Hikmat al-Hijri renewed his call this week for “complete independence” for the province, reiterating his earlier demand for international protection following months of bloodshed.

According to the SOHR, the July violence left more than 2,000 people dead, including 789 Druze civilians who were “summarily executed by members of the defense and interior ministries.” The persistent cycle of violence, coupled with state repression, has deepened resentment in a region that has long resisted Damascus’s authority.

The latest Captagon seizure and renewed unrest in Sweida underscore the scale of Syria’s ongoing crises nearly a year after Assad’s fall. While the new authorities attempt to demonstrate control through major narcotics seizures, the persistent instability, lawlessness, and humanitarian suffering reveal a nation still far from recovery.