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

Jordanian combatant jets struck what they described arsenic “factories and laboratories” for narcotics successful confederate Syria connected Sunday, highlighting the emergence of Suwayda state arsenic a cardinal hub for the accumulation of Captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine.

While the multibillion-dollar Captagon manufacture was erstwhile synonymous with forces linked to the authorities of erstwhile President Bashar al-Assad, caller investigations and subject operations, dubbed “Operation Jordanian Deterrence”, amusement the commercialized has recovered a caller haven successful the restive confederate province.

The developments constituent to an emerging axis betwixt the caller Syrian authorities and Jordan to dismantle the burgeoning cause infrastructure successful Suwayda, a confederate state that borders Jordan, to halt the dispersed of Captagon.

Here is simply a breakdown of wherefore the Druze-majority state has go a determination hub for the accumulation and organisation of the drug.

The displacement to a Captagon hub

The caller aerial attacks specifically targeted sites associated with the “National Guard”, a militia loyal to Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, an influential fig wrong Syria’s Druze minority, an offshoot of Shia Islam. While the cause commercialized was historically linked to Iranian-aligned equipped groups successful neighbouring Deraa, caller reports bespeak a large displacement towards Suwayda, which has remained mostly extracurricular authorities power since the autumn of al-Assad successful December 2024.

Clashes betwixt the Syrian subject and Druze militias, backed by Israel, successful 2025, had further entrenched Suwayda’s isolation from the Syrian state, with the National Guard, the radical successful the state astir powerfully opposed to caller President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, becoming the ascendant unit there.

According to a report by investigative outlet Forbidden Stories, this concern has allowed Suwayda to go a “hotspot” for the Captagon commercialized with elements linked to the National Guard not lone accused of establishing cause manufacturing labs and warehouses wrong the province, but besides operating smuggling rings beyond Syria’s borders.

(Al Jazeera)

Why Jordan is acting now

For Jordan, the emergence of Suwayda arsenic a Captagon manufacturing hub has go a nationalist emergency, with the cause becoming progressively prevalent successful the kingdom. Colonel Abdullah al-Sarhan, a retired Jordanian pilot, noted that Sunday’s “preemptive” strikes were a indispensable action, fixed that the trafficking methods of cause smugglers had evolved significantly. “The champion defence is simply a bully offence,” al-Sarhan told Al Jazeera Arabic.

He argued that aerial strikes were required by Jordan to curb the cause trade, arsenic Captagon labs successful Suwayda are often shielded by hard terrain with transgression groups successful Syria utilizing precocious techniques, specified arsenic drones, to present the contraband implicit the border.

A Jordanian authorities root told Al Jazeera that the kingdom volition nary longer tolerate the beingness of drug-production facilities connected its doorstep but stressed that Sunday’s cognition was conducted successful afloat coordination with the caller Syrian authorities to sphere the nationalist information of some nations.

The caller Damascus-Amman axis

The aerial strikes align with the objectives of Syria’s caller enactment nether al-Sharaa, whose authorities is determined to dismantle the National Guard’s autonomy, which it views arsenic a menace to authorities sovereignty. Alleged cause and limb smuggling from confederate Syria to Jordan is besides considered to beryllium a menace to the kingdom’s stability.

Major-General Mamoun Abu Nowar, a retired Jordanian subject analyst, told Al Jazeera that the kingdom’s actions nonstop a wide connection to elements operating successful confederate Syria. “Jordanian nationalist information is inextricably linked to Syrian nationalist security,” Abu Nowar said. He added that the strikes service arsenic a deterrent not lone to cause cartels but besides to outer actors who mightiness question to instrumentality vantage of the powerfulness conflict betwixt the cardinal authorities successful Damascus and the Druze factions.

“It is simply a connection to those wrong Suwayda cooperating with Israel and to Israel itself: bash not effort immoderate aboriginal projects connected our borders. Jordan volition not hesitate to onslaught these nests,” Abu Nowar said.

The Israel and US factor

The struggle implicit Suwayda’s cause commercialized has the imaginable to gully successful broader determination powers. Israeli officials person antecedently sought to presumption themselves arsenic protectors of Syria’s Druze community, and carried retired attacks connected authorities forces during clashes successful Suwayda betwixt the subject and equipped groups linked to al-Hijri.

In aboriginal March 2025, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to beforehand the Israeli subject to the outskirts of Damascus, utilizing the spurious assertion of protecting Syria’s spiritual minorities.

However, the United States has signalled its absorption to specified escalations and successful July 2025, the US State Department publically criticised Israeli aerial strikes successful confederate Syria, calling for diplomatic engagement and urging the Syrian authorities to pb the way towards stability. This is simply a presumption that aligns with the existent efforts by some Amman and Damascus to consolidate borderline information and eradicate the beingness of Captagon from Syria, which has expanded transgression enactment crossed the region.

What comes next?

The concern successful Suwayda remains highly volatile, with overmuch of the state inactive extracurricular authorities power and periodic clashes on its periphery.

The Syrian authorities and Jordan are determined to dismantle the National Guard’s alleged illicit economical lifelines, portion determination is small inducement for transgression elements to springiness up this lucrative commercialized without a fight. The conflict for the power of Suwayda is present a important trial for the stableness of post-Assad Syria that has broader implications beyond its borders.