Syria's government seizes all Captagon production labs

Stimulant has been major export for years and its use has become widespread across Middle East

Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab on Wednesday said the government had seized control of all Captagon laboratories in the country.

"We were able to stop their production and confiscate all production facilities, and we are in the process of uncovering hidden drugs,” Mr Khattab said in a TV interview with Alikhbaria. "There are now no more factories producing Captagon in Syria."

Most of the factories, of which he said there were dozens, were "in the Damascus countryside and a large number in the Lebanese border area", and on the coast.

The stimulant Captagon has been a major unofficial export for years, with producers in Syria earning large profits as it became a popular recreational drug in the Middle East and beyond.

Since the toppling of former president Bashar Al Assad in December, the government in Damascus has vowed to work internally and with other countries in the region to crack down on the production and trafficking of Captagon.

Syrian police officers burn hundreds of tonnes of Captagon in Damascus, on February 25. EPA

In April, Syrian authorities seized four million Captagon pills concealed inside thousands of metal bars in Latakia, the Interior Ministry said. In early May, the Lebanese military discovered and dismantled a laboratory used to produce the drugs in a raid near the border.

“Since the first day of liberation [from the Assad regime], we have co-ordinated with countries affected by drug trafficking, most notably Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and we have been able to seize numerous shipments and equipment used in drug production,” Mr Khattab said.

He said a restructuring of the ministry aimed to "change the concept of security so that it becomes a source of safety for Syrians, not a source of anxiety".