The Drug Trade, a card to recycle the Assad regime

Alarming transformation Syria was known as a cross point for the drug trade coming from Afghanistan and Iran before 2011. This drug smuggling network was supervised by the Syrian government and some security intelligence branches. According to the study named “The Syrian Economy at War, Captagon, Hashish, and the Syrian Narco-State” issued by the Center of Operational Analysis and Research COAR, the size of drugs coming from Syria between 2013-2015, increased by 4-6 times compared to what it was in 2011. The amount decreased in the next two years when the most brutal military operations were launched by the Assad regime to regain areas out of its control. The size of confiscated drugs coming from Syria in 2018-2020 increased 6-21 times compared to 2011 levels, and narcotics leave Syria, especially Captagon shipments, moving towards three main destinations: North Africa, The Arabian Peninsula, and Europe. The Captagon pill trade is estimated at nearly 16 billion US dollars annually, which is three times the Syrian government budget for the year 2022, and the market value of this confiscated quantity of Captagon pills is estimated at approximately $3. 46 billion US dollars According to COAR research.