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

Published

6 months ago

December 17, 2024

admin

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.

👉 Tap to follow The World wherever you get your podcasts 👈

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.

World

Israel had ‘no choice’ but to attack Iran because it was ‘rushing’ to nuclear bomb, president Isaac Herzog claims

Published

6 hours ago

June 16, 2025

admin

Israel had 'no choice' but to attack Iran because it was 'rushing' to nuclear bomb, president Isaac Herzog claims

Israel had “no other choice” but to attack Iran because it was proceeding “dramatically” towards a nuclear bomb, Israeli President Isaac Herzog has claimed.

Speaking to Sky News’ Yalda Hakim, he said Iran was “rushing” to the bomb “under disguise”.

He also suggested the Israeli war cabinet was discussing Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, amid reports that President Donald Trump vetoed a plan to kill him.

It comes as Israel and Iran continue to fire missiles at each other after Israel launched an unprecedented strike on Iran’s nuclear and military capabilities.

Tehran has long denied that its nuclear program has been attempting to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Mr Herzog was asked why Israel attacked Iran when it did.

“When you take such decisions of historic magnitude and proportions, you have to analyse all facets and all facts,” he replied.

“The truth of the matter is there was no other choice.”

He claimed Iran was proceeding “dramatically” towards the bomb, both in terms of the enrichment of uranium and, “clandestinely”, the armament part of the process.

“I’ve always been very crystal clear with regards to a nuclear capability of our enemies – it has to be removed at once.”

Mr Herzog added: “We have to remove the Iranian nuclear program because we see the negotiating process as being futile because they are lying whilst talking to us.

“They are lying whilst talking to the United States and other allies.”

He was questioned whether the strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure could provoke a response that causes a mass casualty event in Israel.

“(We are) very much aware of the risks of this war,” he replied. “Every night there are missile attacks, heavy missile attacks on Israel.

“We have our air defence systems, which are excellent.

“Unfortunately, we have casualties. Brothers and sisters of ours from toddlers all the way up to the age of 94.”

He continued: “No, we don’t accept it at all… That’s why we are fighting also, to eliminate their capability of firing at us.”

He also suggested the Israeli war cabinet was discussing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after reports Mr Trump vetoed an Israeli plan to kill him.

“Let’s just remember that the Supreme Leader of Iran has for years called for the annihilation of Israel.”

World

Iran’s response to Israeli strikes a ‘matter of principle’, ambassador to UK says

Published

1 day ago

June 15, 2025

admin

Iran's response to Israeli strikes a 'matter of principle', ambassador to UK says

Iran’s response to Israeli attacks on its nuclear facilities is “self-defence” and a “matter of principle”, the Iranian ambassador to the UK has told Sky News.

Speaking exclusively to The World With Yalda Hakim, Seyed Ali Mousavi said the “barbaric Israeli regime” is “violating international law” – describing Israel’s actions in recent days as “an act of aggression against the Iranian people”.

The conflict between Israel and Iran – once played out in a series of proxy wars – has escalated in the past three days.

Follow Israel-Iran conflict live

On Friday morning, explosions hit Tehran as Israel carried out a major attack on its top army leaders, nuclear sites, and nuclear scientists.

Iran threatened “severe punishment” and quickly retaliated with a wave of missiles.

When questioned about whether Iran could continue fighting Israel, the Iranian ambassador told Yalda Hakim that “it is a matter of principle”.

He said: “This is about self-defence, there is no doubt about it.

“We are a responsible member state of the UN and we do all activities according to our international obligations.

“Any activities are only in the framework of self-defence.”

He added that his country would “do our best to preserve our territorial integrity”, and that “with the help of God”, Iran will “materialise endeavours concretely against our enemy – the Israeli regime”.

Mr Mousavi also told Hakim that Iran’s nuclear activities are “monitored”, and that recent comments by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were “politically motivated”.

The UN nuclear watchdog’s board of governors found Iran was not complying with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years.

Iran said it has “always adhered” to the safeguarding obligations laid down by the watchdog.

Announcing Operation Rising Lion on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Iran had recently taken steps to weaponise enriched uranium, which could be used to make nuclear weapons.

But Mr Mousavi stressed that Iran’s “peaceful activities” at its “nuclear fields” were only for the “generation of electricity, and other peaceful” things.

Iran was due to continue its round of negotiations with the US in Muscat – however, this was cancelled, given recent tensions.

World

UK government advises against all travel to Israel

Published

1 day ago

June 15, 2025

admin

UK government advises against all travel to Israel

The government is warning people not to travel to Israel under any circumstances, as the country’s missile exchange with Iran shows no sign of abating.

On Friday, the Foreign Office warned against “all but essential travel” to most of Israel.

The areas around Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights were already classed as red zones, with warnings to avoid travel to these areas.

But the government has now updated the warning for the remainder of the country to red.

Follow live: Tehran and Israel exchange strikes

This puts Israel on the same level as Iran, and the change of advice is also likely to impact travel insurance.

However, with Israel’s airspace closed, it is unlikely many people will be attempting the journey, and Israel’s national airline El Al has announced it is cancelling flights to and from many European cities, as well as Tokyo and Moscow, until 23 June.

The change in travel advice comes after a second night of ballistic missile barrages from Iran following Israel’s attack in the early hours of Friday morning.

On Sunday morning, Israel’s health ministry said 12 people had been killed over the past day, taking the total since Friday to 15. It also said 385 people had arrived at hospital with injuries overnight.

Iran has not provided a total number of deaths or overall casualties, but has claimed dozens have been killed.

Iran’s health minister has said most of those injured and killed in Israeli strikes were civilians. According to comments carried by news agency IRNA, he said the majority were women and children.

What is the UK doing?

The UK government is sending military assets, including fighter jets, to the Middle East.

While the prime minister would not confirm to reporters that UK forces could be used to defend Israel from future Iranian attacks, the chancellor told Sky News earlier that the government is “not ruling anything out”.

Speaking to Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Rachel Reeves said sending military assets to the Middle East “does not mean that we are at war”, and emphasised that “we have not been involved in these strikes or this conflict”.

“But we do have important assets in the region,” she continued. “And it is right that we send jets to protect them. And that’s what we’ve done. It’s a precautionary move, and at the same time, we are urging de-escalation.”

Pushed on the question of what the UK would do if Israel asked for support with its operations, the chancellor replied: “I’m not going to rule anything out at this stage. It’s a fast-moving situation, a very volatile situation. But we don’t want to see escalation.”