An investigation by SIRAJ reaches the shortlist for the True Story Award 2026.
The investigative report produced by SIRAJ, titled “The Syrian Captagon Empire: From Factories in Europe and India to the Fourth Division’s Labs”, has reached the shortlist for the 2026 True Story Award in the category of Best Investigative Journalism in Arabic.
The investigation, carried out in partnership with ARIJ and DARAJ, reveals—through official documents, exclusive testimonies, and field research—how Syria’s pharmaceutical licensing system was exploited to import legal chemicals, including diphenhydramine, and convert them into a key ingredient for counterfeit Captagon pills manufactured in secret labs under the supervision of the Fourth Division in rural Damascus.
The report also traces international supply chains stretching from factories in Europe and India, through front companies and cross-border shipping lines, to a security-protected production infrastructure within Syria, as part of a trade estimated to be worth billions of dollars, which has become one of the main sources of illicit economy during the years of war.
The True Story Award is a global journalism prize that aims to amplify the voices of journalists and correspondents beyond their home countries and to promote diverse perspectives in the international media landscape.
