Over 13 years of catastrophic civil war, Syria has become the world’s largest producer and exporter of manufactured illicit narcotics. Despite measures taken by neighbouring countries to combat this threat, drugs continue to trickle through in vast quantities. According to Syria’s Observatory for Political and Economic Networks, 1,251 drug shipments were seized in the Middle East between 2016 and 2022.
Under the cover of wartime chaos, along with Syria’s division into areas of influence dominated by four governments or
de facto authorities (the Syrian regime, the Syrian Democratic Forces – SDF, jihadi group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, and the opposition-affiliated interim government) the drug production and distribution network is expanding in both scope and complexity. This also applies in areas where control is contested, such as the Syrian desert, where elements of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and various other militias are active, as well as Suwayda, Daraa and some parts of central Syria. These areas contain drug manufacturing facilities, but it is noteworthy that the areas controlled by the regime are responsible for the bulk of this production.
As the problem grows in severity, the countries it affects are seeking to limit its impact, either through negotiations and agreements, or by strengthening their border controls. One country on the front line is Jordan, where border guards and the army regularly engage in firefights with drug smuggling gangs on the border with Syria, even resorting to air strikes, which have also killed civilians, including women and children. In the West, both European states and the US have resorted to economic sanctions, such as seizing funds and prosecuting everyone proven to play a role in drug production. These have particularly targeted prominent merchants linked to the Syrian regime.
