A newly-surfaced social media video has intensified allegations of the Assad regime’s deep involvement in the production and trafficking of captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine that has wreaked havoc across the region. The video, allegedly filmed at a military warehouse near Damascus controlled by Maher al-Assad, brother of former President Bashar al-Assad, shows piles of captagon pills and drug-making equipment. While the footage remains unverified, it has shone a spotlight on Syria’s transformation into a narco-state during Assad’s presidency.
Captagon, often referred to as the “poor man’s cocaine,” has become a lucrative enterprise for the Assad regime, estimated to generate billions of dollars annually. Experts suggest the trade has served as a critical economic lifeline in the face of crippling international sanctions. A report by the US Treasury last year explicitly linked members of the Assad family, including Maher al-Assad, to the drug trade, naming Khalid Qaddour, a close associate, as a key figure in the production and distribution network. Syria’s reliance on captagon money has made the drug trade a key part of keeping the regime and its military going.
The geopolitical implications are stark. According to the Carnegie Endowment, the Assad regime and its allies, including Hezbollah, have exploited captagon trafficking to exert pressure on Gulf states like Saudi Arabia. The Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, remain the primary destination for the drug. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime reported that Saudi Arabia has accounted for the largest seizures globally, including 700 million captagon pills intercepted since 2014. The kingdom has expressed growing concern over the destabilising effects of this trade on its population.
International efforts to counter the trade have intensified. The United States identified the captagon trade as a strategic threat, implementing a 2023 plan to combat the production and smuggling of the drug from Syria and Lebanon. This follows sanctions against key figures linked to the regime, aiming to disrupt the network’s operations. Despite these measures, the flow of captagon continues to pose a substantial challenge.
The alleged centralisation of captagon production within regime-controlled facilities and its ties to powerful Syrian elites highlight the entrenched nature of narco-trafficking within Syria’s power structure. With growing recognition of its role as the “world’s leading source of captagon,” international pressure on Damascus is likely to increase. However, the multifaceted use of the drug trade—as both an economic instrument and a geopolitical lever—underscores the complexity of tackling this crisis.
The Assad regime’s role in the captagon drug trade is causing growing concern for the region’s safety and peace. This illegal industry has not only damaged trust between Syria and nearby countries but also calls for urgent teamwork from nations to tackle the problem.
Source: CNN
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