By Samah Abdel Fattah | 2025-06-12

In an intensive crackdown on smuggling networks the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) established along Syria's border with Iraq, Syrian security forces arrested major traffickers and uncovered extensive tunnel systems.

Iran-backed militias have been using the tunnels to transport weapons and drugs across the border, activists told Al-Fassel.

Syrian authorities recently targeted smuggling operations in the Albu Kamal border region of Deir Ezzor province, particularly near the town of al-Hari, according to Deir Ezzor activist Ayham al-Ali.

During the security sweep, they arrested an operative they named as Ahmed Hussein al-Ali al-Jaghifi, who had been recruited by the IRGC to conduct cross-border smuggling operations, he said.

Al-Jaghifi's arrest could lead to "the almost complete cut off of smuggling routes, as his criminal gang controls most of them," al-Ali said.

In recent months, security forces also discovered multiple warehouses containing weapons, missiles, ammunition and large quantities of Captagon pills prepared for distribution, he added.

"A vast network of smuggling tunnels that were established when Iran's affiliates were in control to transport weapons and drugs are being uncovered," he said.

The IRGC exploited some tribes with family ties on both sides of the border to facilitate illegal operations, with smugglers familiar with the terrain conducting operations for years, al-Ali said.

Stamping out smuggling

While past smuggling was limited to cigarettes, small quantities of contraband or moving wanted criminals, "things changed to the highest levels" after the IRGC established control over those areas, al-Ali said.

The IRGC established numerous networks specializing in weapons, drugs, money and human trafficking when it controlled parts of eastern Syria, leading to "a disruption of social security in several areas," he said.

These included the border town of Albu Kamal and the city of Deir Ezzor and its hinterland, where drug smuggling created widespread substance abuse among youth and spawned serious social and security problems.

"Rampant lawlessness" was one consequence of the spread of illicit drugs, especially Captagon, among the area's youth, Syrian journalist Mohammed al-Abdullah told Al-Fassel.

Even tribal leaders were powerless to stop the proliferation of narcotics while the IRGC controlled the area, al-Abdullah said.

The new campaign to stamp out smuggling networks aims to "establish security and prevent the proliferation of weapons and drugs in the streets," he said.

It is critical to put a stop to smuggling operations, he added, as these "could be exploited by the IRGC to carry out subversive activities, in both Syria and Iraq."