Observers have linked the sharp rise to Riyadh’s intensifying “war on drugs”, with many of those arrested in earlier years being executed following the conclusion of legal proceedings.

According to official Saudi data compiled by Agence France-Presse, 243 of those put to death in 2025 were convicted of drug-related offences.

The total marks the second consecutive year in which the kingdom has set a new execution record, after 338 people were executed in 2024. Saudi Arabia reinstated the death penalty for drug offences at the end of 2022, having suspended its use in narcotics cases for roughly three years.

The country is also a major destination market for fenethylline, an illicit stimulant commonly known as Captagon, which the United Nations has identified as Syria’s largest export during the rule of former president Bashar al-Assad.

Since launching its anti-narcotics campaign, Saudi authorities have stepped up enforcement measures, expanding police checkpoints on highways and at border crossings. These operations have led to the seizure of millions of pills and the arrest of dozens of alleged traffickers.

Foreign nationals account for the majority of those executed in drug-related cases to date.