LONDON: Syrian authorities dismantled a drug trafficking network in Damascus on Monday, arresting four suspects and seizing 36 kg of hashish and 600 grams of crystal methamphetamine, the Anti-Narcotics Department said.

Officers also seized a scale and other materials used to distribute drugs. The suspects were referred to judicial authorities, the department said.

The arrests followed an Oct. 22 operation in southern Daraa province, where officers prevented an attempt to smuggle drugs into neighboring Jordan using guided hot-air balloons, according to the department.

The department said authorities had dismantled numerous trafficking and distribution networks in recent months, seizing and destroying large quantities of drugs. It accused the ousted government of overseeing drug production and distribution in Syria, as well as smuggling across the region.

Drug trafficking has reportedly persisted since the fall of Syria’s longtime President Bashar Assad in December 2024, though the trade has become more fragmented.

Large-scale production of captagon, an illicit amphetamine-type stimulant closely associated with the former government, has been severely disrupted. But stockpiles, surviving networks and cross-border smuggling have kept the drug in circulation.

Syria’s transitional authorities have raided factories, warehouses and trafficking networks inherited from the former government. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime cited Syrian authorities in 2026 as saying they had dismantled 16 laboratories, most of them industrial-scale, and 15 storage facilities.

Captagon is distinct from hashish and crystal methamphetamine, both of which Syrian authorities continue to seize.