Syria: Inside the drug factories that bankrolled Assad’s narco state

Published

9 months ago

December 17, 2024

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Now Bashar al Assad has gone, there is so much to see and film in Syria which was impossible to document before.

The extent, for example, of the regime’s involvement in the captagon trade, a speed-like amphetamine which flooded out of Syria and across the Middle East, was widely known but impossible to film, barring stashes discovered at customs or its prevalence across the Gulf party-scene.

Now Syria’s new guard, Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), has taken over the villas and factories which belonged to the nation’s drug lords and are more than happy to show journalists how the captagon was produced and by whom.

Assad regime falls

We visit two locations, one a private villa near the Lebanese border and another, a captagon factory in a suburb outside Damascus. What hits you first is the smell. It’s tangy and metallic and sticks in your nostrils.

The guards at the villa, which looks like a stage set for Breaking Bad, say it gives them headaches. They’ve burnt the stash of captagon pills they discovered but they’ve kept the raw materials – barrels of caffeine, piled up sacks of what looks a bit like flour, and alcohol. They say they’ve been advised it might come in useful for medicines.

“In Idlib, as you know, we were separate,” says Abu Baker, an HTS soldier who’s happy to show me around. “Anyone who engaged in such activities would be kicked out of the city.

“But of course we knew about what was going on in the rest of Syria and with the regime. The regime was broke. The economy was dead. So they financed themselves with drug money.”

The villas in this neighbourhood belonged to officers from Syria’s 4th armoured division which was run by Assad’s notoriously thuggish brother, Maher. The one we’re in was owned by a man the HTS guards call Colonel Baseem.

“Baseem was the big guy here in this area and he instilled fear in everyone who lived here, everything was off limits,” says Abu Bilal, a farmer who lives next door.

He’d been ordered to leave his home when construction on the villa started and he’d only dared to return when the regime fell. “I was honestly shocked when I found out about the drugs here, about these scary operations that were destroying the country. We didn’t know anything about this drug.”

Syria’s neighbours had long warned of the pernicious effects on their home soil of the captagon it trafficked. Many of the regime drug lords were under US, EU and UK sanctions. Limiting Syria’s illicit captagon exports was to be a bargaining chip in Assad’s attempts at normalising relations with other Arab states.

It was, according to the World Bank, the most valuable sector of Syria’s war-shattered economy, worth between US$1.9bn (£1.5bn) and US$5.6bn (£4.4bn), with Syrian GDP valued at not much more – US$6.2bn (£4.9bn) in 2023.

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The factory produced chocolate and crisps above ground, narcotics below. Pills were stashed inside electrical switching systems, even plastic fruit. They carpeted the floors. Huge piles of captagon pills, worth anything from $2 to $20 each, depending on where they were sold.

“I fled the war to Egypt in 2014,” says factory owner Mohammad al Toot, who has just returned to Syria after a decade away.

“I found out while I was there that Amer Khayti took over my factory under the power of Maher Al Assad the terrorist, and alongside Bashar Al Assad and their gangs. They turned my food production facility into a drug operation. I went to the relevant authorities to claim my factory back but no one helped me.”

The 4th division may be gone but the captagon trade involves numerous different actors. Syria’s transition to narco state was relatively quick. Transitioning back out may not happen so fast.

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UK joins NATO operation to bolster Europe’s eastern flank after Russian drone incursions into Poland

Published

11 hours ago

September 12, 2025

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UK joins NATO operation to bolster Europe's eastern flank after Russian drone incursions into Poland

NATO is to bolster Europe’s eastern flank, including the use of UK military resources, after Russia’s “reckless and unacceptable” violation of Polish airspace.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announced operation ‘Eastern Sentry’ on Friday, involving the deployment of equipment on the border with Belarus, Russia and Ukraine to deter potential Russian aggression.

Poland shot down Russian drones which flew over the country on Wednesday, something the military alliance has portrayed as an attempt by Moscow to test NATO’s military response.

It underlines long-held concerns about the potential expansion of Russia’s three-year war in Ukraine.

Russia said its drones went astray because they were jammed, but European leaders believe the incursions were a deliberate provocation by Russia.

“It’s reckless and unacceptable. We can’t have Russian drones entering allied airspace,” Mr Rutte told a news conference.

He added that allies, including the UK, France, Germany and Denmark, have so far committed to the mission with others set to join.

In a statement, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said: “The UK is fully committed to playing our part in NATO’s Eastern Sentry following the reckless and dangerous airspace violations by Russia”. It added that the details of the UK’s contribution would be announced soon.

Yvette Cooper visited Ukraine on Friday, her first visit to the country since becoming foreign secretary after a cabinet shake-up by Sir Keir Starmer.

Ms Cooper described her trip, which included a meeting with the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as a demonstration of solidarity with Ukraine.

“The UK will not stand idly by as Putin continues his barbaric invasion of Ukraine,” Ms Cooper said, noting what she said was the Russian president’s “complete disregard for sovereignty” by sending drones into NATO airspace.

Prince Harry also made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Friday, where he met with wounded service members.

NATO already has substantial forces in eastern Europe, including thousands of troops, but the alliance did not explain how many additional forces would be involved in the new operation.

Speaking at the alliance’s Brussels headquarters, US General Alexus Grynkewich told reporters the additional resources will enable the alliance to “plug gaps in the line” and concentrate forces wherever they’re needed while improving communications across NATO’s entire eastern flank.

NATO detailed a modest number of additional military assets – including two F-16 fighter jets and a frigate from Denmark, three Rafale fighter jets from France and four Eurofighter jets from Germany.

The announcement also coincided with a joint military exercise involving thousands of Russian and Belarusian troops, which began on Friday.

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Meanwhile, new measures were announced by the UK against Russia on Friday.

They included bans on 70 vessels the UK says are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that transports Russian oil in defiance of sanctions.

Some 30 individuals and companies – including Chinese and Turkey-based firms – were also sanctioned for their part in supplying Russia with electronics, chemicals, explosives and other weapons components.

Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, dismissed Donald Trump’s suggestion that the drone incursion into Poland may have been “a mistake”.

“We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake,” Mr Tusk wrote on X. “But it wasn’t. And we know it.”

US-led efforts to steer Moscow and Kyiv toward a peace settlement have so far failed to progress.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said talks to end the war were currently on “pause” even though channels of communication remain open.

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Russia-Belarus drills begin as tensions high after drone incursion in Poland

Published

17 hours ago

September 12, 2025

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Russia-Belarus drills begin as tensions high after drone incursion in Poland

Thousands of troops are taking part in a joint military exercise between Russia and Belarus, as tensions with the EU run high following a Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace earlier this week.

The Zapad joint military exercise which began on Friday will involve drills in both Russia and Belarus as well as in the Baltic and Barents seas, the Russian defence ministry said.

Belarusian defence officials initially said about 13,000 troops would participate in the drill, but in May, its defence ministry said that would be cut nearly in half.

It comes just two days after Poland, with support from its NATO allies, shot down Russian drones over its airspace.

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Friday morning hit back at a suggestion by US President Donald Trump on Thursday that the incursion may have been a “mistake”.

He said in a post on X: “We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it.”

Russia said its forces had been attacking Ukraine at the time of the incursions and that it had not intended to hit any targets in Poland.

Friday also saw Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper travelling to Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv on the same day the UK announced fresh sanctions against Moscow.

Prince Harry was also in Kyiv for a surprise visit to help with the recovery of military personnel seriously injured in the three-year war with Russia.

Ms Cooper, who was appointed foreign secretary last week, posted about her visit on X saying: “The UK’s support for Ukraine is steadfast. I am pleased to be in Kyiv on my first visit as Foreign Secretary.”

The UK’s new sanctions include bans on 70 vessels that Britain says are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that transports Russian oil in defiance of sanctions already in place.

Some 30 individuals and companies – including Chinese and Turkey-based firms – have also been sanctioned for their part in supplying Russia with electronics, chemicals, explosives and other weapons components.

Meanwhile on the frontline, Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s oil-loading Primorsk port overnight, an SBU official said.

The attack caused fires and suspended oil-loading operations, the official added.

Russian defence systems also intercepted and destroyed 221 Ukrainian drones overnight.

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Prince Harry makes surprise visit to Ukraine

Published

23 hours ago

September 12, 2025

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Prince Harry makes surprise visit to Ukraine

Prince Harry has made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, a spokesperson for the royal has said.

Harry, who served 10 years in the British Army, visited the city at the invitation of the Ukrainian government.

The Duke of Sussex travelled to the capital to help with the recovery of military personnel seriously injured in the three-year war with Russia.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will also be travelling to Kyiv on Friday in what will be her first foreign trip since being appointed to the job last week.

Her visit coincides with the UK launching a new package of Russia-related sanctions targeting ships carrying Russian oil as well as companies and individuals supplying electronics, chemicals and explosives used to make Russian weapons.

It comes as Russia and Belarus began a major joint military exercise on on NATO’s doorstep on Friday, just two days after Poland, with support from its NATO allies, shot down suspected Russian drones over its airspace.

The Zapad-2025 exercise – a show of force by Russia and its close ally – will involve drills in both countries and in the Baltic and Barents seas, the Russian defence ministry said.

Meanwhile on the frontline, Russian defence systems intercepted and destroyed 221 Ukrainian drones overnight,
including nine over the Moscow region, the ministry said on Friday.

The duke told the Guardian while on an overnight train to Kyiv: “We cannot stop the war but what we can do is do everything we can to help the recovery process.

“We can continue to humanise the people involved in this war and what they are going through.

“We have to keep it in the forefront of people’s minds. I hope this trip will help to bring it home to people because it’s easy to become desensitised to what has been going on.”

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Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan, previously travelled to Ukraine in April, when he visited war victims as part of his work with wounded veterans.

The prince visited the Superhumans Center, an orthopaedic clinic in Lviv that treats and rehabilitates wounded military personnel and civilians.

Earlier this week, Harry said the King is “great” after he reunited with him at Clarence House for a private tea.

It was their first meeting in 19 months and lasted just 54 minutes.

The last time the father and son saw each other was in February 2024 when the prince flew to the UK after the monarch announced his cancer diagnosis.

Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have lived in California since they quit roles as senior working royals in March 2020.