War turned Syria’s regime into a ‘narco-state’ smuggling drugs to Gulf, says expert

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Updated 02 September 2022
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War turned Syria’s regime into a ‘narco-state’ smuggling drugs to Gulf, says expert

  • Middle East Institute’s Charles Lister said the Assad regime made $30bn from the illegal trade last year and only $800m from legitimate exports
  • This is a narco-state in the heart of the Middle East … that has enormous significance for regional stability,’ he said

CHICAGO: Although President Bashar Assad continues to survive the civil war that has gripped Syria since 2011, he controls only 60 percent of the country and his regime’s largest source of revenue is now drug trafficking, according to an expert on the nation’s geopolitical history.

Charles Lister, a senior fellow and director of the Syria and Countering Terrorism and Extremism programs at the Middle East Institute, told the Ray Hanania Radio Show on Wednesday that for the past several years the Syrian regime has turned to the distribution of Captagon, a methamphetamine-based drug often referred to as “the poor man’s cocaine,” as its main source of export revenue.

He described Syria as a “narco-state” that in 2021 generated more than $30 billion from the illegal distribution of the drug, mainly in the Gulf region. This compares with only $800 million a year from legitimate exports, he added.

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“As a result of the crisis in Syria, and the fact that it has sustained for so long, the Syrian regime has now become a narco-state of global significance, an issue that almost never reaches our TV screens and our newspapers,” said Lister.

“But last year, 2021, the Syrian regime, in a series of factories across the country run mostly by the (Syrian Army’s) 4th (Armored) Division, which is run by Bashar Assad’s brother, Maher, exported roughly $30 billion of methamphetamine, called Captagon, mostly around the Middle East. $30 billion.

“To put that number into perspective, the legal exports of Syria that same year were worth $800 million. So the drug industry, an illegal drug industry run by the regime, is now literally the only element of importance of the Syrian economy.

“This is a narco-state in the heart of the Middle East exporting drugs mostly to the Gulf, that has enormous significance for regional stability. The Europeans are beginning to get worried about it reaching their shores. Several ports in Africa have seized Syrian-made Captagon over the past couple of years.”

Just this week, Saudi authorities seized narcotics with a street value of up to $1 billion and arrested eight expatriates in what is believed to be the Kingdom’s largest-known smuggling attempt and biggest-ever drug bust.

Officers found 47 million amphetamine pills hidden in a shipment of flour during a raid on a warehouse in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The drugs have an estimated street value of between $470 million and more than $1 billion, based on figures cited in the International Addiction Review journal.

Six Syrians and two Pakistanis were arrested, Maj. Mohammed Al-Najidi, a spokesperson for the Saudi Narcotics Control, told the SPA.

Syria is effectively partitioned and controlled by several major geopolitical powers. Russia and the Syrian regime controls about 60 percent of the country, including the central spine and western regions. The US and its partners control about 30 percent of the country in north east and east. Turkey and its opposition partners occupy between 9 and 12 percent of the north and northwest of the country.

One of the biggest benefactors of the Syrian crisis is Iran, which Lister said uses areas controlled by the Syrian regime as distribution points for weapons Tehran supplies to its partner militias that target Western and Israeli forces.

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“Iran is a whole different story,” he explained. “Iran is not calling all of the shots in Syria but ever since the 1979 revolution it has sought to establish this channel of influence from Tehran all the way to the Mediterranean, through to Israel and Palestine. And that, unquestionably, is what they have managed to achieve.

“In Syria, that is arguably the most strategic kind of jewel in the crown for this Iranian regional strategy. And that is precisely why we see Israel conducting these quite significant series of air strikes over recent years, targeting anything from ballistic missiles, precision-guidance technology and air-defense systems that Iran has flown in, often using its state aircraft carriers, into Damascus International Airport.

“And they have sought to truck those across the border into Lebanon. Or station them in Syria, pointed directly at Israel. For Iran, it is of absolutely enormous significance and they have arguably achieved what they needed to.”

The complex international entanglements in Syria, including the Iranian and Russian presence, means there is no immediate prospect of an end to a conflict, Lister said, in which there have been dramatic flareups, such as when Daesh struck American targets and the US responded by sending in war planes.

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“Syria’s crisis is a long way from over,” he explained. “There are multiple conflicts going on in the country, not just one. And all of the root causes that gave way to the uprising and crisis in 2011, all those root causes are still there today. Most of those root causes are worse today than they were in 2011.

“Over the years, Syria’s crisis deteriorated and escalated to such an extent, and also became so complicated, that various international actors have intervened in pursuit of their own interests over the years and I think, as a result, really Syria is best described now as a geopolitical conflict. There are the Turks, there are the Iranians, the Russians, of course the Syrian government, the Israelis, the global coalition against ISIS,” he added, using another term for the terrorist group Daesh.

“And within that there is a whole variety of different terrorist organizations, as well as the opposition, the Kurds, and the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) that have backed and been our partners in the fight against ISIS. It has been an incredibly complicated crisis. At its core, it is a crisis and there are lots of layers to that.”

During the past two years, Israel has conducted at least 200 sets of air strikes on territory held by the Syrian regime, Lister said.

The regional divisions in the country have resulted in a de facto stalemate of violence and simmering tensions, he added. If there were not so many major geopolitical players involved, he suggested, the conflict might have been resolved long ago.

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“If there was one (major) player, we would have seen Syria’s crisis resolved, one way or the other,” Lister said. “We would have seen it resolved through a victory over one side or the other, or through some kind of negotiated settlement.

“In reality, there is no player that holds all of the cards and that is precisely why, more than 11 years later, this crisis is still going on and all of those roots causes haven’t been resolved.

“Ultimately, I think the Russians have probably changed the dynamic imbalance in Syria the most of everyone. When they intervened in 2015, the regime was on the verge of collapse and implosion and the Russians unquestionably reversed that and put the regime back into a position of advantage. But they have clearly failed to ‘win’ the conflict in the years that have followed and that is why we are in this geopolitical stalemate.”

Lister appeared on The Ray Hanania Radio Show on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022. It is broadcast on the US Arab Radio Network in Detroit and Washington D.C. and rebroadcast in Chicago on Thursdays. You can listen to the entire radio show podcast by visiting ArabNews.com/rayradioshow or any major podcast provider.

You can listen to the radio show’s podcast by visiting ArabNews.com/rayradioshow.


Israel’s military campaign in northern West Bank still ongoing after almost 50 days

Updated 11 sec ago
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Israel’s military campaign in northern West Bank still ongoing after almost 50 days

  • Israeli forces hand eviction notices to residents in Dhannaba neighborhood, told to leave by noon on Sunday
  • Forces evict last residents of Al-Murabba’at Hannoun district in Tulkarm refugee camp

LONDON: Israeli forces have demolished several homes in the Palestinian city of Tulkarm and its refugee camps as part of a military campaign in the northern-occupied West Bank which has lasted nearly 50 days.

Israel’s military campaign in Tulkarm and its refugee camp has been ongoing for 49 days, and 36 days in the Nour Shams refugee camp, the Palestine News Agency reported.

Nearly 24,000 have been displaced from the Tulkarm and Nour Shams camps, and 13 have been killed since Israel launched its campaign in late January.

Israeli forces raided several homes in the Tulkarm refugee camp on Sunday, forcing residents from the Al-Murabba’at Hannoun, Qaqoon, and Abu Al-Foul neighborhoods. WAFA also reported that forces had handed eviction notices to residents in the Dhannaba district, compelling them to leave their homes by noon on Sunday.

Israeli forces had evicted the last residents of Al-Murabba’at Hannoun district in Tulkarm refugee camp the previous day, warning that anyone still in their homes would be arrested. Israel deployed infantry units inside the camp’s alleys on Sunday, barring residents from returning for essential supplies.

Israeli forces set fire to a home and destroyed others in the Nour Shams camp after displacing residents on Sunday. They also raided homes in the Al-Jabal, Al-Nasr, and Al-Mahjar neighborhoods and interrogated some residents, WAFA said.

The Israeli military campaign has caused significant damage to the infrastructure of Tulkarm city and its refugee camps, affecting water, electricity, sewage, and communication networks, along with the destruction of homes, businesses, and vehicles.


US will keep hitting Houthis until shipping attacks stop, Hegseth says

Smoke rises from a location reportedly struck by US airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP)
Updated 7 min 27 sec ago
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US will keep hitting Houthis until shipping attacks stop, Hegseth says

  • Hegseth said US campaign was response to scores of attacks the Houthis have launched on ships since Nov. 2023
  • Houthi movement’s political bureau described US attacks as a “war crime” and said Houthi forces were ready to “meet escalation with escalation”

WASHINGTON/ADEN: The United States will keep attacking Yemen’s Houthis until they end attacks on shipping, the US defense secretary said on Sunday, as the Iran-aligned group signalled it could escalate in response to deadly US strikes the day before.
The airstrikes, which killed at least 31 people, are the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January. One US official told Reuters the campaign might continue for weeks.
The Houthi movement’s political bureau described the attacks as a “war crime” and said Houthi forces were ready to “meet escalation with escalation,” while Moscow urged Washington to cease the strikes.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News: “The minute the Houthis say we’ll stop shooting at your ships, we’ll stop shooting at your drones, this campaign will end, but until then it will be unrelenting.”
“This is about stopping the shooting at assets ... in that critical waterway, to reopen freedom of navigation, which is a core national interest of the United States, and Iran has been enabling the Houthis for far too long,” he said. “They better back off.”
The Houthis, who have taken control of most of Yemen over the past decade, said last week they would resume attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red Sea if Israel did not lift a block on aid entering Gaza.
They had launched scores of attacks on shipping after Israel’s war with Hamas began in late 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Gaza’s Palestinians.
Trump also told Iran, the Houthis’ main backer, to stop supporting the group immediately. He said if Iran threatened the United States, “America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!“

Iran warns US not to escalate 
In response, Hossein Salami, the top commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, said the Houthis took their own decisions.
“We warn our enemies that Iran will respond decisively and destructively if they carry out their threats,” he told state media.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” program:
“There’s no way the ... Houthis would have the ability to do this kind of thing unless they had support from Iran. And so this was a message to Iran: don’t keep supporting them, because then you will also be responsible for what they are doing in attacking Navy ships and attacking global shipping.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Rubio to urge an “immediate cessation of the use of force and the importance for all sides to engage in political dialogue,” Moscow said.
Trump has been pressing Russia to sign a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in its war with Ukraine, which Kyiv accepted last week, but Moscow has said needs to be reworked.
Trump is also increasing sanctions pressure, and hoping to enlist Russian help, to try to bring Tehran to the negotiating table over its nuclear program.
Most of the 31 people confirmed killed in the US strikes were women and children, said Anees Al-Asbahi, spokesperson for the Houthi-run health ministry. More than 100 were injured.
Residents in Sanaa said the strikes hit a neighborhood known to host several members of the Houthi leadership.
“The explosions were violent and shook the neighborhood like an earthquake. They terrified our women and children,” said one of the residents, who gave his name as Abdullah Yahia.
In Sanaa, a crane and bulldozer were used to remove debris at one site and people used their bare hands to pick through the rubble. At a hospital, medics treated the injured, including children, and the bodies of several casualties were placed in a yard, wrapped in plastic sheets, Reuters footage showed.
Strikes also targeted Houthi military sites in the city of Taiz, two witnesses said on Sunday.

Houthis’ Red Sea attacks disrupt global trade route 
Another strike, on a power station in the town of Dahyan, led to a power cut, Al-Masirah TV reported early on Sunday. Dahyan is where Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, the enigmatic leader of the Houthis, often meets visitors.
The Houthi attacks on shipping have disrupted global commerce and set the US military off on a costly campaign to intercept missiles and drones.
The group suspended its campaign when Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza in January.
But on March 12, the Houthis said their threat to attack Israeli ships would remain in effect until Israel reapproved the delivery of aid and food into Gaza.
Joe Biden’s previous US administration had also sought to degrade the Houthis’ strike power. But US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump had authorized a more aggressive approach.
The US military’s Central Command described Saturday’s strikes as the start of a large-scale operation across Yemen.
The strikes were carried out in part by fighter aircraft from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea, officials said.
Iran condemned the strikes as a “gross violation” of the UN Charter and international law.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the US government had “no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy.” 


Turkiye calls on EU to lift Syria sanctions ahead of international conference

Updated 16 March 2025
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Turkiye calls on EU to lift Syria sanctions ahead of international conference

  • The EU will host the ninth international conference in support of Syria on Monday
  • For the first time, representatives of Syria’s new interim government have been invited to attend

ISTANBUL: Turkiye on Sunday called on the European Union to unconditionally lift sanctions on the Syrian Arab Republic, ahead of an international aid conference in Brussels to which the war-torn country’s new authorities have been invited.
Ankara, allied with Syria’s new rulers who ousted president Bashar Assad and took power in December, views such a step as necessary for a “peaceful transition” in the country, Turkiye’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
The European Union on Monday will host the ninth international conference in support of Syria. For the first time, representatives of Syria’s government — the new interim authorities — have been invited to attend.
The event aims to raise international support for Syria’s transition and recovery after more than 13 years of civil war.
The European bloc on February 24 already announced an easing of sanctions on Syria’s energy, transport and banking sectors to relieve some of the challenges facing Ahmed Al-Sharaa, Syria’s interim president.
But Europe and other powers remain wary over what direction Sharaa’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) — which spearheaded the lightning offensive that toppled Assad on December 8 — may take Syria.
While there are hopes Sharaa’s authorities can stabilize the country and usher in an inclusive future, recent deadly violence targeting the Alawite minority to which Assad belongs has kept doubts floating.
EU foreign ministers have warned that the sanctions they eased could be reimposed if Syria’s new leaders break promises to respect the rights of minorities and move toward democracy.
“Syria’s economic security is essential for the country’s stability and security,” Turkiye’s ministry said, adding that “economic opportunities and jobs need to be created.”
“The sanctions must be lifted unconditionally and for an indeterminate period,” it said.
Turkiye, which hosts nearly three million Syrian refugees, also urged reconstruction of Syria “to encourage returns.”
Turkish deputy foreign minister Nuh Yilmaz will attend the Brussels conference.


Iraq says seized one ton of captagon from Syria via Turkiye

Updated 28 min 13 sec ago
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Iraq says seized one ton of captagon from Syria via Turkiye

  • Amphetamine-type stimulant has for years been mass-produced in Syria

BAGHDAD: Iraq’s security forces have seized over a ton of captagon pills hidden inside a truck that entered Iraq from the Syrian Arab Republic via Turkiye, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

The drug shipment, the largest ever seized in Iraq, was tracked and intercepted with the assistance of “important information” provided by Saudi’s drug enforcement agency, the Interior Ministry spokesperson Brig. Muqdad Meri said in a televised statement.

Western anti-narcotics officials say the addictive, amphetamine-type stimulant known as captagon has for years been mass-produced in Syria.

Captagon — a mix of amphetamines also known as the “poor man’s cocaine” — is one of the more popular recreational drugs among affluent youth in the Middle East.

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Inside Saudi Arabia's war against the drug destroying lives across the Arab world
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Lebanon says Israeli strike kills one in south

Updated 16 March 2025
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Lebanon says Israeli strike kills one in south

  • The strike targeted a four-wheel-drive vehicle near Yater in Bint Jbeil district at around 2:00 am

Beirut: An Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon on Sunday killed one person, the health ministry said, the latest attack more than three months into a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The strike, which also wounded one person, targeted a four-wheel-drive vehicle near Yater in Bint Jbeil district at around 2:00 am, the official National News Agency reported.
“The Israeli enemy’s air strike on a vehicle in the town of Yater resulted in the martyrdom of a citizen and the injury of another,” the ministry said in a statement carried by NNA.
It comes a day after the ministry said one person was killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the southern border town of Burj Al-Muluk.
Following that raid, the Israeli military said it “struck a Hezbollah terrorist who took part in terrorist activity in the area of Kfarkela in southern Lebanon.”
And on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it carried out a strike in southern Lebanon that killed a senior Hezbollah militant.
That came as Lebanon received four detainees who had been taken to Israel during fighting with Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group, with a fifth detainee, a soldier, released on Thursday after he was taken earlier this month.
A November 27 truce largely halted more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, including two months of full-blown war in which Israel sent in ground troops.
Israel has continued to carry out periodic strikes on Lebanese territory since the agreement took effect.
Israel had been due to withdraw from Lebanon by February 18 after missing a January deadline, but it has kept troops at five locations it deems “strategic.”
The ceasefire also required Hezbollah to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.