How Iran turned Syria into ‘the den of Captagon

How Iran turned Syria into ‘the den of Captagon

Everybody who visited Syria earlier than the conflict noticed banners studying “Assad’s Den,” “Syria’s Assad” and different slogans that aimed to indicate the power of the regime and the transformation of all the things within the nation below the management of the Assad household.

This was the picture that the Syrian regime needed to current of the nation to the extent that it was a sort of identification that outlined Syria internally, earlier than externally.

However after the outbreak of the conflict, Syria’s identification progressively turned linked to destruction, killings and conflict crimes, the final of which concerned medicine. The Syrian regime and a few extremist teams used medicine to encourage fighters, getting them hooked on a drug referred to as Captagon. This in flip made them hooked on preventing.

Some began calling Syria the “Captagon Republic,” “the Captagon Empire” or the “drug state.”

Throughout the decade-long conflict, Syria’s infrastructure and financial system have been destroyed and monetary flows into the nation from Assad’s allies — primarily Iran — have stopped because of the lowered threat of the regime being overthrown militarily. The regime discovered itself in need of funds. Its choices turned restricted to creating a brand new trade, with the assist of Iran, and reworking it to draw cash on the lowest potential value.

Cooperation emerged between a gaggle of Iranian militias and their allies, such because the Lebanese Hezbollah, and a few leaders of the Syrian military and the forces affiliated with it. This cooperation centered on producing the most cost effective varieties of medicine on this planet and smuggling them at a restricted value out of Syria (in a number of instructions), with the potential of even crossing the Mediterranean towards Europe.

The drug smuggling was not just for monetary functions, but additionally to threaten “enemy international locations,” as seen by the Assad regime.

The truth that the drug smuggling didn’t even cease on the borders of nations which have established diplomatic ties with Damascus is proof of the malicious mentality of this regime, which is financially pushed and doesn’t hesitate to take revenge for previous indiscretions.

A few of those that have been within the regime’s ranks earlier than lately defecting consider there was a disintegration in its capacity to make centralized choices. In response to them, some militias which are loyal to Iran is not going to adjust to any of the regime’s calls for to cease smuggling medicine into sure international locations that it doesn’t wish to disturb.

Nevertheless, given the battle inside regime parts, be they army or paramilitary teams or Iran and its loyalists, the continuation of Syrian drug smuggling will likely be random and never restricted to any market.

Whatever the regime’s Captagon smuggling targets — whether or not to lift monetary sources or to threaten different international locations — the risks of this substance, which is technically generally known as fenethylline and is an enhanced model of amphetamine, are enhanced by the truth that it’s manufactured in small, primitive factories. This may increasingly additional contribute to the unprecedented hurt precipitated to the customers and the communities focused by the Syrian regime.

The drug smuggling was not just for monetary functions, but additionally to threaten ‘enemy international locations,’ as seen by the Assad regime

Ghassan Ibrahim

The Syrian regime advantages from Lebanon’s manufacturing and smuggling operations, particularly in areas below the management of Hezbollah. This has mirrored badly on the repute of Lebanese merchandise because of the worry that these medicine might be hidden of their packaging earlier than being exported to all worldwide and regional markets.

Throughout the conflict on Daesh, the Syrian regime claimed that such terrorist organizations have been those who produced and smuggled these medicine, however after Daesh was eradicated, Syria’s Captagon smuggling operations flourished. This means that the Syrian regime acts equally to these terrorist organizations by counting on producing medicine, however it does it to a higher diploma and throughout a wider geographical scope that transcends the borders of the nation.

The regime depends upon businessmen, whether or not Iranian, Lebanese or Iraqi nationals, along with Syrians, to import the uncooked supplies wanted for the manufacture of Captagon, together with what is obtainable regionally.

The regime has made certain that each one manufacturing takes place in small factories situated within the east and south of the nation and on the coast to facilitate relocation within the case of detection or monitoring. On the identical time, this provides ease of entry to the borders with neighboring international locations and permits the medicine to be smuggled with out management.

Wanting on the strategies of manufacturing and smuggling, it seems that there’s a mechanism to rework the drug trade into probably the most essential Syrian export, attaining earnings starting from $6 billion to $8 billion yearly, which go on to the regime and its Iranian companions.

The present Syrian financial scenario doesn’t give any impression that the regime has another product that might generate such earnings. This means the possible continuation of this trade and the associated smuggling operations with out restrict or time-frame.

It appears that evidently Syria, which has for years been recognized for its conflict and destruction, its repressive regime and its report of conflict crimes, has remodeled from what was once referred to as “Assad’s den” into “the den of Captagon.”

I’ve been knowledgeable by European sources that the Captagon tablets which have reached Greece, France and even Germany — the nation that first manufactured these tablets as medication within the early Nineteen Sixties earlier than they have been banned all through the world in 1986 — got here from the trio of Syria, Iran and Lebanon.

It appears tough to count on any decision to the regime’s drug enterprise in Syria and overseas.

Syria’s commerce and smuggling of Captagon is now not about atypical medicine, however quite a weapon that threatens the security, safety and stability of regional and worldwide communities. Due to this fact, the trade must be positioned on worldwide sanctions lists as a matter of urgency.

• Ghassan Ibrahim is a British-Syrian journalist and researcher on points concerning the Center East, most notably Turkey, Syria, and Iran. He might be reached at www.ghassanibrahim.com.

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers on this part are their very own and don’t essentially mirror Arab Information’ viewpoint