Lebanon’s army said it discovered and seized about 1.2 million Captagon pills in a northern area of Beirut that were intended to be taken out of the country and smuggled.

According to the Lebanese army, two people were arrested while packing the shipment inside a vehicle for transfer abroad.

Captagon, a drug substance with effects similar to amphetamine, has become one of the most important smuggled drugs in the Middle East in recent years, with Gulf countries in the region among its main markets.

During Bashar al-Assad’s rule, Syria had become one of the main centers for Captagon production and trafficking. After Assad’s fall in 2024, Syria’s new authorities have announced that they are working to counter this illegal trade.

In Lebanon as well, Hezbollah, Assad’s ally, has faced allegations regarding the use of Captagon trafficking to finance its activities.

Lebanon and Syria are also under pressure to prevent drug smuggling along their shared 330-kilometer border.