According to official Syrian Interior Ministry statistics, in 2016 the authorities confiscated 2,433 drug shipments and made 3,160 arrests on charges of drug distribution and possession.
Syrian police seized a total of 267kg of hash, 28kg of heroin, 11kg of cocaine, 180kg of marijuana seeds, 500kg of marijuana, 65,943 psychotropic drug pills, over 6 million Captagon pills and 1 ton of chemicals used for drug manufacturing.
According to the source, at this time the most widespread illegal drug in Syria is fenethylline, a codrug of amphetamine and theophylline marketed for use as a psychostimulant under the brand names Captagon, Biocapton, and Fitton.
This drug is "extremely popular among the militants", as Syrian government troops often find significant quantities of Captagon pills in "areas liberated from terrorists", the source added.