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Iraqi forces foil smuggling of over one ton of drugs via Syria, Al Iraqiya News, March 16, 2025
On March 21, 2025, Syrian anti-narcotics forces uncovered a staggering cache of approximately 3 million Captagon pills in a warehouse in Aleppo, arresting one suspect in a major operation. The seizure, conducted in collaboration with Aleppo’s security directorate, has reignited scrutiny on the Iranian regime’s long-standing involvement in the region’s illicit drug trade. While the Syrian Interior Ministry has referred the suspect to judicial authorities, emerging reports point to a deeper connection with Tehran-backed networks that have historically fueled instability in Syria.
Under the former regime of Bashar al-Assad, which collapsed in December 2024, Syria transformed into a hub for Captagon production and trafficking, with allegations consistently linking these operations to Iranian militias and Hezbollah, both heavily supported by Tehran.
Sources indicate that the Iranian regime utilized drug revenues to fund its proxy forces across the Middle East, exploiting Syria’s chaos to expand its influence. The recent Aleppo bust follows a pattern of heightened Syrian efforts to dismantle these networks, including military operations targeting Hezbollah along the Lebanon border and crackdowns on weapons smuggling tied to the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
#Iran News: Syria Cracks Down on #Hezbollah’s Weapons Smuggling Network Amid Tensions with Iran’s Regimehttps://t.co/46NQINJbJ7
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 20, 2025
The regime’s role in Syria’s drug trade is part of a broader strategy to sustain its regional ambitions despite growing pushback. Since Assad’s fall, Tehran has reportedly sought to ignite insurgencies in Syria’s coastal regions, using its proxies to maintain a foothold. The Captagon trade, long a financial lifeline for these groups, has flooded Middle Eastern markets, with the amphetamine-based drug becoming a staple of organized crime in the region. Iraqi authorities recently seized over a ton of Captagon originating from Syria, underscoring the scale of the problem.
This latest seizure in Aleppo highlights the enduring challenge of confronting Iran’s destabilizing activities in post-Assad Syria. As Syrian forces intensify their efforts to curb Tehran’s influence, the international community watches closely, wary of the broader implications for regional security.