Syria’s Suwayda: A new hub for the multibillion-dollar Captagon trade?

Jordanian fighter jets struck what they described as “factories and laboratories” for narcotics in southern Syria on Sunday, highlighting the emergence of Suwayda province as a key hub for the production of Captagon , a highly addictive amphetamine. While the multibillion-dollar Captagon industry was once synonymous with forces linked to the government of former President Bashar al-Assad, recent investigations and military operations, dubbed “Operation Jordanian Deterrence”, show the trade has found a new haven in the restive southern province. The developments point to an emerging axis between the new Syrian government and Jordan to dismantle the burgeoning drug infrastructure in Suwayda, a southern province that borders Jordan, to halt the spread of Captagon. Here is a breakdown of why the Druze-majority province has become a regional hub for the production and distribution of the drug. The shift to a Captagon hub The recent air attacks specifically targeted sites associated with the “National Guard”, a militia loyal to Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, an influential figure within Syria’s Druze minority, an offshoot of Shia Islam. While the drug trade was historically linked to Iranian-aligned armed groups in neighbouring Deraa, recent reports indicate a major shift towards Suwayda, which has remained largely outside government control since the fall of al-Assad in December 2024. …