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Syrian Captagon industry

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Illicit drug manufacturing by Syria
127 bags of Captagon seized in Syria before being destroyed in May 2018

The Syrian Captagon industry is responsible for about 80% of the global production of the Captagon drug. Syria exports the drug to various countries, mainly in the Middle East region, including Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Gulf states, and Egypt. The drug export was one of the main sources of income for the government of Bashar al-Assad, helping it to prop up the economy during the Syrian Civil War.

After the fall of the Assad regime the new Syrian transitional government ordered the cessation of the drug trade; the flow had reportedly reduced by at least 90% shortly before Assad's overthrow.

Background

The overwhelming majority of Captagon pills are produced in Syria, and a small portion in Lebanon. According to estimates, the drug trade amounts to billions of dollars.

Export of the drug to Middle Eastern countries

Based on 2023 estimates, about 80% of Captagon is produced in Syria and exported from the port of Latakia with the assistance of the Syrian government under the command of Maher al-Assad. Estimates suggest that the Captagon trade market ranges from $5.7 billion to $57 billion. Over the years, hundreds of millions of Captagon pills have been smuggled into Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Gulf countries. One of the main smuggling routes is through the Anbar province, which borders Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. In 2021, more than 250 million Captagon pills were seized worldwide, 18 times more than the number of pills seized in 2017. Additionally, according to Al Jazeera, in 2022, Jordan seized 65 million Captagon pills in Syria en route to its territory. In 2015, the Secretary of Saudi Arabia's National Committee for Drug Control reported that the majority of Captagon consumers are aged 12 to 22.

In May 2023, a summit was held in Jeddah where the Arab League countries reached an agreement on normalization with Syria and lifting the embargo on it following the civil war in Syria, in exchange for suppressing Captagon smuggling from it to other countries in the region, which leads to increased drug consumption among young people, in turn leading to severe damage.

The drug was used by militants of the Islamic State during the November 2015 Paris attacks and Hamas during the 2023 attack on Israel.

Jordan's response to the drug smuggling

Following normalization, Syria allowed Jordan to attack drug smugglers within its territory several times, who were smuggling drugs to Jordan. The attacks focused mainly on the As-Suwayda district in southwestern Syria. In some cases, civilians were killed in the attacks, which raised local criticism of the government for not doing enough to stop the smuggling phenomenon and forcing Jordan to take military action there.

See also

References

  1. "What is Captagon, the addictive drug mass-produced in Syria?". Al Jazeera. 12 December 2024 .
  2. "Drug that makes Syrian regime millions trafficked through Europe, report says". POLITICO. 2023-09-13. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  3. "A little white pill, Captagon, gives Syria's Assad a strong tool in winning over Arab states". AP News. 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  4. Oweis, Khaled Yacoub; Tollast, Robert (2024-12-09). "Captagon flows that enriched Assad regime in Syria come to 'near-full halt'". The National.
  5. "Tackling the illicit drug trade fuelling Assad's war machine". GOV.UK. 28 March 2023.
  6. Kachmar, Oleh (2022-04-05). "The Captagon Threat: A Profile of Illicit Trade, Consumption, and Regional Realities". New Lines Institute. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  7. Mustafa Abu Sneineh (31 March 2023). "Why does the UK think Syria has a $57bn captagon industry?". Middle East Eye.
  8. "פשיעת הסמים: כך הפך הקפטגון למקור ההכנסה העיקרי של אסד וברוני הבקעא". www.makorrishon.co.il. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  9. "הפתוות מלמדות: הסם קפטגון הגיע לכל בית בעולם הערבי". הארץ (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  10. "מחאות, סמים, אלימות ותקיפות ישראליות: סוריה בצל הנורמליזציה האזורית עם אסד". www.inss.org.il. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  11. ^ "High on Captagon and Antisemitism: Everything About 'The ISIS Drug' Used by Hamas". Haaretz. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  12. וינרב, גלי (2023-11-09). "מיוצר בסוריה ומסיר עכבות: זה הסם שנתפס אצל מחבלי חמאס". Globes. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  13. ארי, ליאור בן (2024-01-18). "ירדן מפציצה מבריחי סמים בסוריה, שם מוחים נגד המשטר: "הסוחר נמצא בארמון הנשיאות"". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-02-26.
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