- Captagon raid in Iraq
- Syria’s regime linked to trade
- Global Captagon market impact
A new drug raid was conducted at the end of February in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, where 80 kilogrammes (176 pounds) of the narcotic Captagon were seized.
It is the most recent apprehension of the preferred budget amphetamine in the Middle East, which is located in Iraq and in a region just across the border from Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad’s regime has come to rely more and more on the production and export of the drug to fund its war-devastated economy through illicit means.
Captagon, which was created in the 1960s and was popularly referred to as “poor man’s cocaine” before its purported adoption by ISIL (ISIS) militants, rose to international prominence in the 2010s.
Production had largely shifted to the Middle East by the turn of the millennium, where the quality of the substance fluctuated nearly as much as its clientele. Youths in some of the region’s more affluent areas utilise Captagon to add an illicit excitement to a weekend evening.
However, for a taxi driver considering working an additional double shift, Captagon can mean the difference between paying his rent on time.
As per expert opinion and Western government statements, the Syrian government has exploited this economy. Captagon has proved to be an ideal solution for Damascus, which has turned to the drug trade in response to international isolation and the destruction of traditional tax-raising methods.
The expeditious production of the highly addictive substance has become a lucrative venture for regime associates, according to the business and economics website Syria Report, which further explains that the proliferation of the narcotics trade and the concomitant reduction in opportunities for lawful commerce has effectively rendered drug manufacturing the country’s primary source of foreign exchange.
The United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Syrian nationals, including two cousins of al-Assad and others with close ties to the government and military, to target what the US estimated to be a “billion-dollar illicit enterprise” last year. Syria denies involvement in the Captagon trade. The Council of the European Union explicitly stated in its statement that the trade in Captagon had evolved into a “business model led by the regime, which enriches the regime’s inner circle and provides it with revenue that enables it to continue repressive policies against the civilian population.”
Sanctions and restrictions on engaging with the regime internationally, in addition to the direct devastation and fighting, have had a devastating effect on the government, according to HA Hellyer, a Middle East security expert at the Royal United Services Institute and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“With limited success, the Iranians and Russians have attempted to mediate the situation; this has affected the regime as a whole and [al-]Assad’s clan in particular.”
The Syrian affiliation
Caroline Rose, director of the Captagon Trade Project at the New Lines Institute, describes how pills are transported by military units of the Fourth Armoured Division from southern Syrian locations such as Deraa and Sweida overland to Iraq, or by the government’s allies, Hezbollah, into Lebanon. Syria is a central node in the regional Captagon trade.
Despite Hezbollah’s denial of participation in the Captagon trade, mounting evidence suggests that the drug’s influence is broadening. For the second time in a single week, Jordanian forces engaged Syrian Captain smugglers in gunfire in December as they attempted to assault the border by exploiting dense fog.
The value of the Captagon transaction on a global scale is approximately $10 billion. Rose stated that roughly $2.4 billion of that amount was transferred directly to the Syrian regime in the previous year. Regarding restructuring and the requirements of the Syrian people, little to nothing was allocated.
“Given the proximity between Assad and [Libyan rebel general Khalifa Haftar], much speculation has surrounded the possibility that al-Assad’s regime is establishing a base in eastern Libya.” “Additionally, there is an increasing frequency of captured Captagons in nations situated along the coup belt,” Rose explained, alluding to the succession of countries that stretch from Guinea to Sudan in Africa.
Conversely, the narcotic is transported from Syria to Europe via repackaging and then to the Gulf, where customs authorities are presumed to be less suspicious of cargo bearing documentation from the European Union or the United Kingdom.
“No new seizures have occurred in Europe in several months,” said Andrew Cunningham of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. “However, we know that pill transit through Europe continues to constitute a significant portion of their network.”
“Overall, Captagon has struggled to establish a foothold in Europe,” he said of the substance, which has been unable to contend with alcohol’s pervasiveness and the availability of more potent substances in the region.
“However, that does not mean that manufacturing laboratories do not exist there.” For instance, several assaults have been conducted in the Netherlands; however, it seems that the results of these operations were intended for the Arabian Peninsula.
Reintegration of regions
Analysts suspect, notwithstanding the international concern surrounding Syria’s narcotics trade, that regional actors are prioritising the promotion of regional unity over fears of Captagon. The ongoing conflict in Gaza has further intensified this trend.
Syria was readmitted to the Arab League in May of last year, which contributed to the al-Assad regime’s rehabilitation. Before that, the government had been largely ostracised in the region due to its protracted conflict with the country’s opposition, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
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Hellyer stated, “Israel’s invasion of Gaza and the subsequent escalation in the region will have only served to underscore to those regional powers the importance of avoiding an escalation of tensions with the al-Assad regime.”
While the repercussions of Israel’s invasion of Gaza resonate globally, frequently highlighting the dichotomy between those in authority and those who are ruled, the situation in Syria may provide the regime with additional immunity from international condemnation.
