Packages containing Captagon seized by the Lebanese Army. Photo released Aug. 11, 2026, on the army's X account. (Credit: Lebanese Army)
The Lebanese Army announced Tuesday that it seized 1.2 million Captagon pills that were about to be sent abroad, according to a message posted on its account on the social network X.
The army said two individuals were arrested in Sarba, in the Jounieh region (Kesrouan), "as they were loading approximately 1.2 million Captagon pills into a vehicle with the intention of smuggling them out of Lebanon." The seized items were handed over to the authorities, and an investigation has been opened with the two suspects under the supervision of the competent judicial authorities.
Lebanon is under pressure from Gulf countries to combat the production and trafficking of drugs, particularly Captagon, a synthetic narcotic with effects similar to amphetamines, for which the conservative Gulf monarchies are a major market. Coincidentally, the Internal Security Forces (ISF) announced Sunday that they seized a package containing 5,000 Captagon pills destined for Saudi Arabia.
In neighboring Syria, Captagon became the main export after the outbreak of the civil war in 2011 and a major source of illicit funding for the regime of former Syrian President Bashar Assad. Since the fall of Assad in 2024, authorities in Damascus have been trying to combat Captagon trafficking.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah, a former ally of Bashar Assad, has also been accused of resorting to Captagon trafficking to finance itself.
