“According to Caroline Rose, co-author of the New Lines Institute report ‘most production happens in Syria, in labs she describes as ‘industrial-scale’. The operation is thought to involve at least 15 major sites, many on the coast, which is controlled by the Assad regime. It spans Damascus, Aleppo and Homs provinces, as well as areas on the borders with Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan. Since the regime rules with an iron fist, it’s clear that captagon production is only possible because the authorities turn a blind eye. Syria, diplomatically isolated, under Western sanctions, and until recently on poor terms with neighbouring Turkey and Iraq, is trying to diversify its revenue sources, even if that means being labelled a narco-state – an accusation Damascus rejects.”
My sources suggest that Major General Maher al-Assad, the president’s brother and commander of the Syrian Republican Guard’s elite fourth armoured division, plays a key role. ‘The fourth division oversees a series of industrial captagon production facilities, most located in areas under the regime’s control. It has also strengthened its presence on Syria’s southern border with Jordan and Lebanon,’ says Rose.
The US and UK have imposed sanctions on those responsible for the captagon trade, quoting independent experts who believe it could be worth as much as $57bn to the Assad regime (4) – ten times the usual estimates of the value of the Middle Eastern market, and three times the trade of the Mexican cartels.
The list includes senior civil servants, business leaders, militia commanders and family and friends of Assad, as well as members of Hizbullah, which is accused of using its military and logistical capabilities to protect labs and distribute the drug.
Laurent Laniel, an analyst at the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction “believes the network goes well beyond the Syrian state: ‘I find it hard to believe the Syrian government is supplying tonnes and tonnes of captagon without any help. The traffickers are running considerable risks – in Saudi Arabia they get the death penalty. Given the scale of the operation, there must surely be an institutionalised trade in the Gulf states, with local actors handling the merchandise’.
With the Gulf states keeping a closer watch on imports from Syria and Lebanon, captagon is now being shipped via Asia, Africa and Europe. Several consignments have been seized in Greece and Italy, and neighbouring countries, especially Jordan, seem to be increasingly involved in local trade and consumption.”
Full article is on Le Monde Diplomatique
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