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Damascus Seizes 50,000 Captagon Pills Bound for Saudi Arabia

Captagon dealers arrested in Damascus; pills destined for smuggling to Saudi Arabia (Syrian Interior Ministry)
Captagon dealers arrested in Damascus; pills destined for smuggling to Saudi Arabia (Syrian Interior Ministry)
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Damascus Seizes 50,000 Captagon Pills Bound for Saudi Arabia

Captagon dealers arrested in Damascus; pills destined for smuggling to Saudi Arabia (Syrian Interior Ministry)
Captagon dealers arrested in Damascus; pills destined for smuggling to Saudi Arabia (Syrian Interior Ministry)

Syrian officials have confiscated 50,000 Captagon pills hidden in fabric cushions in Damascus's Al-Qadam district.
The Drug Enforcement Branch of Damascus made the discovery, according to a statement from the Syrian Interior Ministry shared on social media.
The pills were meant to be smuggled into Saudi Arabia, the ministry reported.
Three people have been arrested in connection with the case, and they will face legal action after being presented to competent judicial authorities.
Brig. Gen. Sami Darwish reported that one suspect was caught with the drugs and confessed to working with two other accomplices. These accomplices were later arrested in Jaramana and Al-Marja.
Hours before the Captagon seizure, the Damascus Criminal Security Branch arrested members of a network involved in drug trafficking and counterfeit currency.
The Interior Ministry said the arrests followed a thorough investigation and surveillance operation.
In a well-coordinated sting in the Al-Zahira district, three suspects were detained while traveling in a public vehicle.
Authorities seized 41 bundles of hashish and $1,000 in counterfeit bills. The suspects admitted to running a drug trafficking ring and distributing narcotics across provinces with the help of several accomplices who remain at large.
In Damascus’ Keshkoul area, three suspects were arrested with a firearm, Captagon pills, and a motorcycle. Police also found about 7,000 Tramadol pills at their homes. The search for additional suspects is ongoing.
The fight against drug trafficking is a major concern for Arab nations, along with refugee returns and political solutions.
Over the past two years, Syria has prevented several drug smuggling attempts, but the US and Western countries accuse the Syrian government of aiding drug trafficking, which they say threatens regional security.
Damascus has rejected claims of involvement in Captagon production and trafficking, citing its commitment to international drug control agreements, including the 1961 Convention, the 1971 Psychotropic Substances Convention, and the 1988 UN Convention on Drug Trafficking.

 

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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah

Cyprus stands ready to help eliminate Syria’s remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and to support a search for people whose fate remains unknown after more than a decade of war, the top Cypriot diplomat said Saturday.

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Cyprus’ offer is grounded on its own past experience both with helping rid Syria of chemical weapons 11 years ago and its own ongoing, decades-old search for hundreds of people who disappeared amid fighting between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriots in the 1960s and a 1974 Turkish invasion, The AP reported.

Cyprus in 2013 hosted the support base of a mission jointly run by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to remove and dispose of Syria's chemical weapons.

“As a neighboring country located just 65 miles from Syria, Cyprus has a vested interest in Syria’s future. Developments there will directly impact Cyprus, particularly in terms of potential new migratory flows and the risks of terrorism and extremism,” Kombos told The AP in written replies to questions.

Kombos said there are “profound concerns” among his counterparts across the region over Syria’s future security, especially regarding a possible resurgence of extremist groups like ISIS in a fragmented and polarized society.

“This is particularly critical in light of potential social and demographic engineering disguised as “security” arrangements, which could further destabilize the country,” Kombos said.

The diplomat also pointed to the recent proliferation of narcotics production like the stimulant Captagon that is interconnected with smuggling networks involved in people and arms trafficking.

Kombos said ongoing attacks against Syria’s Kurds must stop immediately, given the role that Kurdish forces have played in combating extremist forces like the ISIS group in the past decade.

Saleh Muslim, a member of the Kurdish Presidential Council, said in an interview that the Kurds primarily seek “equality” enshrined in rights accorded to all in any democracy.

He said a future form of governance could accord autonomy to the Kurds under some kind of federal structure.

“But the important thing is to have democratic rights for all the Syrians and including the Kurdish people,” he said.

Muslim warned that the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani, near Syria’s border with Türkiye, is in “very big danger” of falling into the hands of Turkish-backed forces, and accused Türkiye of trying to occupy it.

Kombos said the international community needs to ensure that the influence Türkiye is trying to exert in Syria is “not going to create an even worse situation than there already is.”

“Whatever the future landscape in Syria, it will have a direct and far-reaching impact on the region, the European Union and the broader international community,” Kombos said.