The fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from his throne has not only brought down the most lucrative drug production and smuggling network in the Middle East; it has also exposed the Syrian regime's role in the production and trade of narcotic pills that have financed wars and fomented social crises throughout the Middle East.
An investigation published in the Wall Street Journal said that Captagon, a methamphetamine-like drug (also known as crystal meth) that has been produced for years in Syrian laboratories, has helped the Assad regime accumulate enormous wealth and reduce the impact of international sanctions imposed on Syria, while also allowing allies such as Hezbollah to profit from its trade.
A few days after ousting Assad from power in a lightning strike, Syrian rebels circulated videos of industrial production and trading facilities inside government websites affiliated with former regime officials.
Among the videos that came from the rebels and journalists visiting Syria were thousands of Captagon pills hidden inside fruit boxes, packages of ceramic tiles and electrical equipment. The rebels claimed to have destroyed much of the Captagon that was found.
Enjoyed by large segments of the Syrian population, from taxi drivers and students working late hours to militia fighters, Captagon has helped drive demand for drugs across the Middle East — especially in Saudi Arabia — and has become a source of international tension between Syria and its neighbors.
The revelations after the collapse of the regime provide evidence of what has long been known: The Assad regime was the driving force behind the estimated $10 billion annual global trade in Captagon, which has become the drug of choice across the Middle East in recent years. Assad used the money to maintain his rule and reward loyalists.
Although estimating the size of the illegal drug economies is inherently complicated, Western think tanks estimate the annual Captagon trade at about $10 billion – almost identical to the European cocaine market – with the Assad regime bringing about $2.5 billion into the pockets of the Alawite government.
* Channel 14 contributed to this article.
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