April 30, 2022
Updated 2 hours ago
Credit, AFP
An old drug is back in the Arab world: Captagon.
For years it was used in the West as a prescription antidepressant, although it was later banned when its highly addictive potential was demonstrated.
Until recently, their production was considered one of the sources of income for the selfproclaimed Islamic State and was therefore nicknamed “terrorist drug”.
Now investigations ensure that its largescale production and distribution in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East is a matter of state.
“Our study showed that Captagon has become the Syrian government’s main source of income,” says Caroline Rose, a researcher at the Newlines Institute for Policy and Strategy, a Washingtonbased think tank that recently published a report on drug production in Syria.
“Everything indicates that people are close to it [presidente sírio] Bashar AlAssad, including his younger brother Maher alAssad, commander of the army’s Fourth Armored Division [uma unidade de elite]are behind this deal, which has become Syria’s main export.”
The Syrian government has repeatedly denied any involvement in the production of the Captagon. Syrian authorities claim that the various reports and studies on the subject are false.
“Syria plays an important role in supporting the international community’s efforts to combat crime in general and drug trafficking in particular,” the country’s interior ministry wrote on Facebook last December.
Syrian Interior Minister Muhammad alRahmoun told state news agency Athr Press in October 2021 that “Syria is a drugfree country” but its geographical location “makes it a transit country”.
However, the Newlines Institute for Policy and Strategy study is not the only one to point the finger at the Syrian government.
Several different sources blame the government: Coast Guard reports from several countries including Italy and Jordan, investigations by the New York Times and the Guardian, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and the Center for Analysis and Operations Research (COAR ) .
“The lack of conventional economic activity has increased the relative attractiveness of industrialscale drug speculation, which has been largely captured and controlled by businessmen linked to the regime of Syrian President Bashar alAssad and the regime’s foreign allies,” COAR said last year. . .
With the Syrian economy in shambles after a decade of war and unable to recover from international sanctions, captagon has grown into a multibillion dollar industry, according to research.
“The areas where Captagon production is most pronounced are those controlled by the alAssad regime and its close relatives,” says COAR analyst Ian Larson. “It’s an awkward connection, but significant.”
According to research by the Newlines Institute, the illicit Captagon market generated an estimated $5.7 billion (28 billion reals) in profits in 2021 alone.
“We can’t be sure how much of that money is going into the hands of the Syrian government, but one could argue that a significant portion of that revenue is likely going into the pockets of these people,” says Rose.
Credit, Getty Images
caption,
Captagon in Saudi Arabia in March 2022
She says that after more than ten years of civil war and sanctions against the Syrian economy, captagon has become “an alternative source of revenue for the state” but also for nonstate actors.
“Many businessmen and members of Syria’s agricultural and development sectors also appear to be involved, providing an alternative form of profit in a devastated economy,” he says.
From Medicine to Banned Drug
First synthesized in the 1960s, Captagon was used worldwide as an antidepressant that was also prescribed for other conditions such as attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy.
“It went from a prescription drug to a ban and soon became a widely used illicit substance in the Middle East. It is now one of the most defining and dominant illicitly traded products in this region, particularly in the Middle East.” Middle East and the Persian Gulf,” says Rose.
According to the researcher, its popularity in this region of the world is mainly due to two elements:
“The taboos against drugs are greater in the Arab world than in the West. Since Captagon has been a legal and wellknown drug for a long time, its popularity has not decreased,” says the researcher.
“It must be borne in mind that in many countries where it is consumed, the economic and political conditions make life very difficult and captagon, for its effects, is very attractive to those who have to work all day to avoid trauma or starvation and because it’s very cheap,” says Rose.
This led to the substance becoming known as “poor man’s cocaine”.
Captagon makes the person consuming it feel productive. In addition, the drug suppresses hunger and sleep and increases energy, which has made it popular as a recreational drug among young people.
“You have to keep in mind that Captagon has also evolved from its original formulation to higher doses of amphetamines and in many cases other contaminants such as copper, zinc, quinine, pseudoephedrine and other substances are also added,” the researcher explains. .
Credit, AFP
The studies that led to its ban also showed that the drug can be addictive, and some research suggests it can lead to violent behavior, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular problems.
“Captagon has many uses, and that’s why it’s become a very interesting and intriguing substance that has multiple and diverse user profiles,” says Rose.
The Syrian market
Although Captagon was consumed in the Arab world long before the arrival of the Islamic State or the war in Syria, its production has reached record highs in recent years.
An investigation in late 2021 by the American newspaper The New York Times found that more than 250 million Captagon pills were seized worldwide that year, a quantity 18 times more than four years ago.
According to Rose, previous statistics from 2022 suggest that Captagon smuggling will be even higher.
“There is a large production of the drug, involving not only the Syrian government, but also landowners, ranchers and businessmen in the Arab world who meet the demand of a growing market,” says the specialist.
“But of course it’s not the same when you do it through individual or small group methods as when you’re a state and put some of your forces at the service of the production and distribution of that substance, which basically makes it an industrial level,” she said. adds.
According to Rose, her research, conducted in collaboration with analyst Alexander Söderholm, has shown that the ways in which the alAssad government and the Syrian army have engaged in Captagon production and distribution have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years has become.
Credit, RAMZI HAIDAR
caption,
The Syrian President and his younger brother Maher alAssad
The Newline Institute report indicates that the Syrian government acts from production to distribution of the substance.
“We found that there are several places that produce it and that are linked to the Syrian Army, but the Syrian authorities have also facilitated the production of Captagon with small, medium and sometimes large labs and factories.”
“And of course with the transport of these drugs to the main state ports or sometimes unofficial ports along the Syrian or Lebanese coast and along the border points. It’s such a complex and dynamic network that it probably makes Syria the most modern drug testing site.”
A $100 million ($497 million) shipment of Captagon was seized at a Greek port in 2020.
The ship had started its voyage from Latakia port under Syrian government control and the drug was hidden under coffee, spices and sawdust.
An investigation by the OCCRP (Organized Crime and Corruption Whistleblower Project) revealed that the ship’s owner was Taher AlKayali, a target of sanctions by the Italian authorities and allegedly related to Mudar alAssad, the Syrian President’s cousin.
For its part, the Syrian Interior Ministry said it was “doing its best to confront drug traffickers and suppress this phenomenon by pursuing drug smuggling and trafficking networks and confiscating narcotics.”
A new source of income
The Newsline Institute report points out that the drug was a loophole to get money in the great wall of sanctions surrounding Syria as a result of more than a decade of war.
“The Syrian regime has found an opportunity in the Captagon to neutralize and undermine the impact of these sanctions and the crisis, particularly those sanctions affecting individual members of the government, their subordinates and allies,” he says.
Credit, AFP
Given that Captagon has become a highly profitable and popular substance both in the East and the Persian Gulf and has the ability to open up new markets, research suggests that even with the end of the war in Syria, it is unlikely to end its production in large quantities becomes scale.
At least not as long as alAssad and his family remain in power.
“We expect this trade to continue to increase over time. This, of course, poses not only a regional law enforcement challenge, but also a human security challenge, as many people will continue to use this drug without regulation or oversight, and even more so if we see its formula changed,” says Rose.
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