The dark side of Syria's Captagon: The billion-dollar drug trade and its routes to the Gulf

Captagon, the drug manufactured in Syria, has been a topic of discussion in the region, especially since curbing its export is a basic condition for developing Syrian-Gulf, specifically Syrian-Saudi relations.

For years, we have heard about the seizure of Captagon shipments almost weekly in Arab, European, and African countries.

The latest seizure was last Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, where more than 8 million pills worth more than $120 million were seized.

 Recently, the pace of seizures in the region has increased between the UAE, Iraq, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

Quantities of Captagon with a total value of over a billion dollars have been seized. We are only talking about the last three weeks, according to security data issued by these countries.

So, how is Captagon reaching Saudi Arabia and other countries from the factories in Syria?

The first line is the air route, which is rarely used. The second line is the sea route: operations are mainly carried out from Latakia and Tartus towards Greece, Italy, and Libya, from where the drugs are transported to Europe or re-exported to Gulf countries. 

Attempts were also made to use the ports of Tripoli and Beirut to smuggle shipments of Captagon pills to European countries and some Gulf states. 

After the story of Lebanese ports was uncovered and Gulf countries tightened their monitoring of goods coming from Lebanon and Syria, drug smuggling operations began to use some African ports as a transit before re-shipping to the Gulf. 

The third line is the land route.

The main route for exporting Captagon from Syria is smuggling the pills across the desert towards Jordan and from there to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.

There is also smuggling from Syria toward Iraq and Turkey. There have been reports of small quantities of Captagon pills reaching Israel through operations that originated from Quneitra in Syria towards the occupied Golan Heights and through the barbed wire fence at the Lebanese border in the areas of Al-Ghajar and Al-Wazzani, according to Israeli authorities.

In summary, given the Gulf countries' recent decision to continue the war against drugs, especially Captagon, which poses a threat to an entire generation, cross-border cooperation with Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan is essential.

However, the seriousness of the Syrian regime in dealing with the issue remains crucial in determining the fate of the relationship with the Gulf and the fate of the trade of the deadly pills that constitute 80% of Syria's industry and trade in the world.