The drugs were discovered concealed inside a shipment of clay pots at an undisclosed Syrian port, bound for international export. Law enforcement successfully dismantled the trafficking cell, arresting the operation’s ringleader along with seven other suspects. Following the bust, Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab praised the effort on , calling it one of the “largest operations of its kind” and declaring that “Syria will neither be a transit route nor a safe haven for these poisons” The former lawmaker was stripped of his immunity and jailed to serve a 13-year sentence for criminal association and money.
Source: OCCRP, 2026-05-25; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/syrian-authorities-seize-25-million-captagon-pills-in-major-port-bust