Despite the fall of Bashar al -Assad … the Captagon trade in Syria has not yet ended

During the long civil war in the country, the Assad regime was subjected to diplomatic sanctions and isolation, and it is believed that the Captagon trade has brought billions of dollars to the Assad regime and its allies.

The country’s position on this trade changed significantly after the fall of Assad in December 2024, and the arrival of a transitional government to power, which pledged to disrupt the supply chain, and this has proven through public destruction of large quantities of captagon that was seized.

However, the latest version of the global drug report, issued by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime today, Thursday, warns that Syria is still a major center for this drug, despite the security campaign.

Before launching the report, Angela Mai, Head of Social Affairs at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, spoke to United Nations news about the continuous use of Captagon in the region.

Angela Mai: Captagon is a stimulant, similar to metamafitamine, is eaten as pills, and for many years it was the main drug that is disturbing in the Gulf states and parts of North Africa.

It was called “Jihadists” after the discovery that the perpetrators of some terrorist attacks used it. On the battlefield, the drug helps to maintain energy, which is one of the reasons that make it widespread. But users soon become dependent on it, and cause physical and mental health problems.

United Nations News: The Syrian interim authorities indicated that they will not tolerate this trade, but your report shows that Syria is still a great center for Captagon. Who produces and sells?

Angela Mai: There is a lot of uncertainty about it. We see many large shipments heading from Syria via, for example, Jordan. Perhaps there are still stocks of material, but we are looking at the places where production may turn. We also see that smuggling is expanding regionally, and we have discovered laboratories in Libya.

United Nations News: Given the large amounts of drugs generated by drugs, are there still groups in Syria who want to continue trade in the parts they control from the country?

Angela Mai: Certainly, not only in Syria, but also in the wider region. These groups have been running the Captagon for a long time, and production will not stop within days or weeks.

We are helping countries to address the problem from the perspective of organized crime, to understand the involved criminal groups, so that they can design responses and solutions: our research shows that there is no single response to dismantling these groups.

We also help law enforcement devices to communicate with their counterparts in the region, because this is not a national problem. It is clearly a cross -border problem that exceeds the Middle East; We have seen the Captagon movement across Europe, for example.

Another way in which we can support health issues, and sharing evidence -based treatments that can really help people recover from their dependence on the drug.

The most prominent points from the global drug report:

• Violence associated with the cocaine market is now spreading to countries in Western EuropeIncluding the result of the increasing influence of criminal groups organized by West Balkans in the smuggling of cocaine from South America to Europe.
• The profits generated by the cocaine trade distorting entire economies in some parts of Latin AmericaWhich undermines economic investments and the welfare of societies. In some countries, the illegal financial flows resulting from the cocaine trade can reach levels similar to the value of the total national agricultural exports.
• Conflict and instability continue to provide fertile land for the production and smuggling of artificial drugs.
• The war in Ukraine resulted in the disruption of existing ways to smuggle heroin and cocaineBut the production and smuggling of artificial drugs has expanded.
• Criminal groups are invented by the chemical concealment of drugsWhich greatly complicates detection and objection.