US, UK sanctions highlight role of Syrian, Lebanese figures in fueling Captagon addiction crisis

Special US, UK sanctions highlight role of Syrian, Lebanese figures in fueling Captagon addiction crisis
Massive seizures of Captagon, including in Saudi Arabia. (AFP)
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Updated 31 March 2023

US, UK sanctions highlight role of Syrian, Lebanese figures in fueling Captagon addiction crisis

US, UK sanctions highlight role of Syrian, Lebanese figures in fueling Captagon addiction crisis
  • Sanctions imposed on Syrian-linked figures reflect growing international alarm over Captagon trafficking
  • Arab News Deep Dive shed light on Saudi efforts to stop trade blamed for destroying lives, destabilizing region

LONDON: Sanctions recently imposed by US and UK authorities on two cousins of President Bashar Assad and several Syrian and Lebanese figures reflect growing international alarm over their role in manufacturing and trafficking Captagon, estimated to be worth up to $57 billion to the Syrian regime.

Captagon is a highly addictive amphetamine used throughout the Middle East, with 80 percent of the world’s supply produced in Syria. Multibillion-dollar shipments of the drug routinely leave regime strongholds such as the Port of Latakia.

In a recent Deep Dive published in February, Arab News delved into the dark underbelly of the Captagon industry, speaking to recovering addicts, dealers, traffickers, health professionals, and border officials involved in clamping down on the illicit trade.

“Syrian President Bashar Assad’s family members and associates rely on the illicit drug trade to fund his regime’s violent oppression and commission of abuses against the Syrian people,” Vedant Patel, the State Department’s deputy spokesman, said on Tuesday.

“The individuals and entities being designated today have enabled the Syrian regime to continue carrying out abuses against the Syrian people by providing funds to the regime derived from trade in illicit drugs.

“Captagon trafficking by the Assad regime, Hezbollah and their affiliates poses a significant threat to stability, public health and rule of law in the region.”




Captagon is a highly addictive amphetamine used throughout the Middle East. (AFP)

Trade in the drug is a financial lifeline for the Assad regime during 12 years of civil war, sanctions and diplomatic isolation. According to UK authorities, the business is worth approximately three times the combined trade of the Mexican cocaine cartels.

The Assad regime, Lebanese militia Hezbollah, and other Iranian-backed groups in the region are all known to facilitate the Captagon industry, and in doing so fuel regional instability while creating a growing addiction crisis.

American and British authorities announced the new sanctions on March 28, targeting two of Assad’s cousins, Samer Kamal Assad and Wassem Badi Assad, over their role in the drug trade.

According to the US Treasury, Samer Kamal Assad owns a factory in the coastal city of Latakia that produced 84 million Captagon pills in 2020 alone.

“Syria has become a global leader in the production of highly addictive Captagon, much of which is trafficked through Lebanon,” Andrea Gacki, the senior Treasury official handling sanctions, said in a statement.

“With our allies, we will hold accountable those who support Bashar Assad’s regime with illicit drug revenue and other financial means that enable the regime’s continued repression of the Syrian people.”

The list includes senior regime officials facilitating the trade, to the manufacturers of the drug, and key Hezbollah associates responsible for trafficking it across the Middle East.

Others targeted in the sanctions include Nouh Zaitar, Lebanon’s most famous drug lord who is on the run from authorities, and Hassan Dekko, a Lebanese-Syrian drug kingpin with high-level connections in both countries.

Under the US Treasury action, the US will block any assets on its soil held by the alleged drug traffickers and will make transactions with them a crime. The sanctions also constitute an asset freeze and UK travel ban on the individuals concerned.




Seizures of Captagon have been traced to the Assad regime, with Maher Assad, left, playing a key role in production and smuggling of the drug. (AFP)

“The Assad regime is using the profits from the Captagon trade to continue their campaign of terror on the Syrian people,” Lord Tariq Ahmad, the UK minister of state for the Middle East, said in a statement.

“The UK and US will continue to hold the regime to account for brutally repressing the Syrian people and fueling instability across the Middle East.”

Recognizable by the distinctive twin half-moons logo, which gives the drug its Arabic street name, “Abu Hilalain,” “Father of the Two Crescents,” the pills are easy to make, readily available and relatively cheap to buy.

In the past six years, Saudi authorities have seized a total of 600 million Captagon pills at the country’s borders, including more in the first quarter of 2021 than in the whole of the previous two years.

Almost 120 million pills were seized in 2021, and in August 2022 alone the authorities intercepted a record single haul of 45 million pills.

One of the largest recent hauls was in October, when almost 4 million pills were discovered in a shipment of bell peppers in Riyadh, leading to the arrest of five suspects, in the capital and Jeddah.

Intercepting the drugs at the border is only half the battle against Captagon, which is also being fought by medical professionals at dedicated treatment centers across Saudi Arabia. Thankfully, addicts in Saudi Arabia have the opportunity to seize the lifeline offered by organizations such as the Kafa Society.

INNUMBERS

• $57bn Estimated value of the Captagon trade to the Bashar Assad regime.

• 80% Proportion of the world’s supply of Captagon produced in Syria.

• 5%-10% Approximate amount of Captagon intercepted by Gulf authorities.

Many young people turn to Captagon to help keep them awake during intense periods of study and exams or to hold down jobs with long or antisocial working hours.

Once addicted, some users will turn to street crime in order to feed their habit, or treat it as a gateway to harder substances. In the process, the addiction can destroy relationships, careers and academic potential, and can lead to arrest, hospitalization and even death.

Captagon has been found to cause confusion and mood swings, ranging from anxiety and extreme depression to impatience, irritability and feelings of anger or rage.

Even more worryingly, it also endows some users with an indifference to pain and fear and a dangerous sense of invincibility — qualities that have reportedly led to the drug being adopted by the foot soldiers of Daesh and other terror groups in the region.




Maher Assad has been affiliated with production and smuggling efforts in his role as commander of the Fourth Armored Division, Caroline Rose told Arab News. (AFP)

In 1981, amid growing evidence of widespread addiction and misuse, including its use as a performance-enhancing drug in sports such as cycling and soccer, Captagon was banned by the US Food and Drug Administration.

In 1986, Captagon’s legal run finally came to an end when the World Health Organization listed fenethylline as a controlled substance under the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, to which Saudi Arabia has been a signatory since 1975.

Since then, the drug has not been produced, sold or prescribed legally anywhere in the world. But in the shadows, criminal gangs had spotted a profitable opportunity and counterfeit versions of Captagon soon began to appear in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Today, the vast majority of the tens of millions of pills flooding the Arabian Peninsula every year are manufactured in Syria with the active involvement of the Assad regime.

According to a report published in April 2022 by Washington think tank the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, war-torn Syria has become “the hub for industrial-sized production.”

It adds that “elements of the Syrian government are key drivers of the Captagon trade, with ministerial-level complicity in production and smuggling, using the trade as a means for political and economic survival amid international sanctions.”

The government “appears to use local alliance structures with other armed groups, such as Hezbollah, for technical and logistical support in Captagon production and trafficking.”




80 percent of the world’s Captagon supply produced in Syria. (AFP)

Caroline Rose, a senior analyst at New Lines, told Arab News there was no doubt that “Captagon is being produced and trafficked by an array of individuals that are very close to the Assad regime, some of them cousins and relatives of regime members.”

Most notable among them, she said, was “Bashar Assad’s brother, Maher, who has been affiliated with production and smuggling efforts in his role as commander of the Fourth Armored Division.”

This military unit has been associated with a diverse range of economic activities linked to Syria’s wartime economy, including the collection of levies from traders and smugglers at checkpoints set up at international border crossings under regime control.

On Sept. 20, 2022, the Syrian regime’s role in the drug trade was officially recognized when the US House of Representatives passed H.R. 6265, the “Countering Assad’s Proliferation Trafficking and Garnering of Narcotics (CAPTAGON) Act.”

The Act requires the US government “to develop an interagency strategy to disrupt and dismantle narcotics production and trafficking and affiliated networks linked to the Bashar Assad regime in Syria.”

Speaking on the House floor in support of the Bill, Representative French Hill said that “in addition to regularly committing war crimes against his own people, the Assad regime in Syria is now becoming a narco-state.”

Captagon, he added, “has already reached Europe and it is only a matter of time until it reaches our shores.”

 

 

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Moroccan youth address risks of climate change and water scarcity 

Moroccan youth address risks of climate change and water scarcity 
Updated 13 sec ago

Moroccan youth address risks of climate change and water scarcity 

Moroccan youth address risks of climate change and water scarcity 

WASHINGTON: Moroccan youth are working to address their country’s dire environmental future amid drastic climate change, water scarcity and food production issues.

Morocco is one of many countries that have been wrestling with the consequences of climate change and water scarcity, which has the potential to impact population stability and the country’s resources. 

In a session organized by the Middle East Institute in Washington DC on Wednesday, several Moroccan youths addressed the serious environmental challenges their communities are facing. They discussed ways to decrease the impact of climate change in Morocco.

They said climate change had a direct impact on water scarcity, energy, agricultural production and education, and argued that these issues were connected.

Fatna Ikrame El Fanne, an environmental engineer and climate activist, said that the Moroccan government had recently started paying attention to the issue. She said that several water-related strategies were in place to deal with water scarcity and management.

“In recent years, the Moroccan government has enacted a number of policies that are aimed at improving water management and availability within the country,” she said.

She said that the government had put together several long-term strategies — among them an integrated water resources management and efficiency road map, in addition to enacting a national water law that provided a legal framework for water governance, rights and protections.

Ikrame said that the idea behind these governmental measures was to encourage conservation and the sustainable use of water.

Wissal Ben Moussa, an engineer in agro-food industries and agroecology specialist, said that because of its geographical location, Morocco had an ecosystem that was prone to desertification and aridification.

She said that the country’s ecosystem has been severely impacted by climate change, which had increased water scarcity through less rainfall, an increase in water evaporation and rising temperatures. 

These factors, she said, had a direct impact on agriculture and food productivity. 

“In the coastal areas, we see sea level rises, sea water temperatures rise, which has a direct effect on biodiversity and marine life and the whole eco system,” she said.

“Climate change is impacting our unique and very fragile ecosystem in the forests, wetlands, the mountainous regions and more specifically in the southern regions or Morocco, which are already semi-arid and becoming more and more arid.” 

Hasnae Bakhouch, a UN Women Young Peacebuilder and environmental activist, said that water scarcity was impacting women in rural areas because they carried out many household and farming responsibilities. She said that lack of adequate infrastructure in rural areas created added risks for women trying to find water for their families.

Bakhouch said that children also lacked adequate health care due to the impact of climate change in the regions.

“The whole system needs to be fixed,” she said.


Dubai ruler approves futuristic masterplan for Palm Jebel Ali

Dubai ruler approves futuristic masterplan for Palm Jebel Ali
Updated 32 min 38 sec ago

Dubai ruler approves futuristic masterplan for Palm Jebel Ali

Dubai ruler approves futuristic masterplan for Palm Jebel Ali
  • Part of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, Palm Jebel Ali is one of a series of projects being undertaken by Dubai-based real estate developer Nakheel

DUBAI: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, UAE vice president and prime minister and ruler of Dubai, has approved a new futuristic development masterplan for Palm Jebel Ali, state news agency WAM reported on Wednesday.

Part of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, Palm Jebel Ali is one of a series of projects being undertaken by Dubai-based real estate developer Nakheel.

Sheikh Mohammed said that Dubai would continue to innovate and deliver world-class lifestyle destinations that enhanced its status as the world’s best city to live, work and visit.

“We have vast ambitions for the future and we are confident that we can transform our grand vision for development into reality,” he said. “Palm Jebel Ali will further strengthen our urban infrastructure and consolidate the city’s emergence as one of the world’s leading metropolises. This new groundbreaking project reflects our strategic development plan centered on raising the quality of life and happiness of residents.

“Dubai has entered a new phase of development driven by innovation and creativity. By taking advantage of the opportunities arising from the evolving global environment, Dubai’s competitiveness and reputation as a thriving global business and tourism hub continue are set to grow further. We remain committed to shaping a brighter future both for our people and the world.

“The urban expansion that Palm Jebel Ali represents is a testament to Dubai’s economic dynamism. It also signifies Dubai’s exceptional outlook as a hub for talent and investment. The project will contribute to Dubai’s sustainable development by opening new avenues for growth in several sectors,” he said.

Palm Jebel Ali would raise the global benchmark in waterfront living and offer a range of luxury lifestyle amenities for residents, families and visitors, supporting the objective of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 to consolidate Dubai’s status as one of the world’s top cities for business and tourism, WAM said.

The project also marks the beginning of a new growth corridor in the Jebel Ali area, underlining the expansion of the emirate.

Spanning an area of 13.4 sq km and occupying an area twice the size of Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali will feature extensive green spaces and distinctive waterfront experiences. The project will add about 110 km of coastline to Dubai that will provide about 35,000 families with luxury beachside living.

It will feature more than 80 hotels and resorts, and a wide choice of entertainment and leisure facilities that will contribute to Dubai’s tourism sector, while distinguishing the archipelago as an aspirational residential destination in the city.

Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Shaibani said: “We are honored to embark on a pathbreaking journey with the new masterplan of Palm Jebel Ali, which is unprecedented in magnitude and scale. The megaproject is inspired by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum and will mark a new milestone in the continued growth of the city.

“Palm Jebel Ali will capture the spirit, energy and life of Dubai as a thriving, prosperous and sustainable waterfront community and a world-class lifestyle destination, and secure Dubai’s reputation globally as an innovator in waterfront developments, besides creating exceptional value for investors.”

In line with the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, Palm Jebel Ali will support the emirate’s vision to deliver the highest standards of urban infrastructure and facilities, increase beach destinations as well as support sustainable development and facilitate the expansion of the population, estimated to reach about 5.8 million by 2040.

Setting a model in contemporary urban planning practices, the island will feature mixed-use walkable neighborhoods, incorporate smart city technologies and sustainability practices, as well as provide a range of mobility options for residents, visitors and communities, WAM reported.

Palm Jebel Ali has been designed with sustainability in mind. The plans include renewable energy resources being incorporated into its infrastructure design, allowing it to become almost completely self-sufficient in power generation once complete. As much as 30 percent of Palm Jebel Ali’s energy requirements will be obtained from renewable sources.


Jordan, UK ministers discuss boosting bilateral relations

Jordan, UK ministers discuss boosting bilateral relations
Updated 01 June 2023

Jordan, UK ministers discuss boosting bilateral relations

Jordan, UK ministers discuss boosting bilateral relations
  • Ahmad emphasized his country’s enthusiasm for the expansion of bilateral cooperation while expressing “great” appreciation for Jordan’s efforts to assist refugees

AMMAN: Ahmed Safadi, Jordan’s lower house speaker, on Wednesday met Tariq Ahmad, UK’s minister of state for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and the UN, to help boost bilateral relations in parliamentary fields, the Jordan News Agency reported.

Safadi spoke of the “deep-rooted” friendship between Jordan and the UK and emphasized the importance of joint cooperation to serve common interests to achieve regional security and stability and boost support for the Palestinian people’s right to establish an independent state.

Safadi said Jordan was taking “confident” steps toward enhancing its political, administrative, and economic systems, and that the country had undertaken a “comprehensive” national project to achieve its development goals.

Ahmad said that the UK placed “remarkable” importance on Jordan’s role in the region, highlighting Amman’s “central and important” role in achieving security and stability in the Middle East.

He also stressed his country’s support for Hashemite custodianship over Jerusalem’s holy sites, as well as Jordan’s vision based on the two-state solution to achieve comprehensive peace.

Ahmad emphasized his country’s enthusiasm for the expansion of bilateral cooperation while expressing “great” appreciation for Jordan’s efforts to assist refugees.


French leader urges Lebanese parties to urgently elect new president, save country from ‘drowning’

French leader urges Lebanese parties to urgently elect new president, save country from ‘drowning’
Updated 31 May 2023

French leader urges Lebanese parties to urgently elect new president, save country from ‘drowning’

French leader urges Lebanese parties to urgently elect new president, save country from ‘drowning’
  • Emmanuel Macron made his plea following a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi
  • French judiciary has accused the central bank chief, his brother Raja Salameh, and his assistant Marianne Hoayek, of amassing a huge fortune in Europe

BEIRUT: French President Emmanuel Macron has urged Lebanon’s divided politicians to save the country from “drowning in crises” by immediately electing a new president.

The French leader made his plea following a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi.

A French presidency statement, issued on Wednesday, said: “Macron and Al-Rahi expressed their deep concerns about the crisis in Lebanon and the paralysis of institutions, which has been exacerbated by the presidential vacuum for the past seven months.

“They agreed on the necessity of electing a president for the republic without delay.”

The statement quoted Macron as highlighting, “the need to keep Lebanon’s Christians at the heart of the sectarian and institutional balance of the Lebanese state.”

The president described Lebanon as a country “drowning in crises” adding that “the political deadlock has been an obstacle to the reforms without which there can be no recovery and lasting stability in Lebanon.”

Lebanon has entered its eighth month without being able to elect a president.

Hezbollah and its allies support the Marada Movement leader, Suleiman Frangieh, who is close to Syrian President Bashar Assad, but the largest parliamentary blocs oppose him in favor of their own candidate, former minister Jihad Azour, currently the director of the International Monetary Fund’s Middle East and Central Asia department.

Agence France-Presse quoted sources in Paris as saying that, “Al-Rahi and Macron discussed bridging the gap between Lebanese parties to agree on a presidential candidate and complete the electoral process.”

No political party has the necessary majority to elect its presidential candidate in parliamentary elections. Other parties refuse to bring a compromise candidate and because of the impasse, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has not set a date for what would be the 12th attempt to elect a president.

The country is struggling with economic, financial, and administrative crises that the caretaker government has been unable to resolve due to its inability to authorize decisions except in exceptional cases.

When the term of Lebanon’s central bank governor, Riad Salameh, is due to terminate at the end of July, another key vacancy will appear in the country.

Salameh is being investigated by several European countries and the Lebanese judiciary over allegations of corruption.

He appeared before the public prosecutor of the Court of Cassation, Judge Imad Qabalan, on Wednesday at the Palace of Justice in Beirut to be questioned about an arrest warrant recently issued against him by the German public prosecutor on charges of money laundering, forgery, and embezzlement.

Salameh’s son, Nadi, and Marwan Issa Al-Khoury, were also named in the German arrest warrant without any demand for their arrest, but rather a request that Salameh be held accountable for them.

The French judiciary has accused the central bank chief, his brother Raja Salameh, and his assistant Marianne Hoayek, of amassing a huge fortune in Europe, including money and real estate, through complex financial arrangements and embezzlement of large sums of Lebanese public funds. Salameh’s lawyers have filed an appeal against the charges.

The Lebanese judiciary is still awaiting a response from their French counterparts over the possibility of merging the European and Lebanese files on Salameh and prosecuting him in Lebanon, to avoid extradition.

Meanwhile, Raja Salameh failed to appear before a Paris court on Wednesday, citing through his legal representative in Lebanon medical reasons for his absence.


Arab League chief meets Palestinian PM

Arab League chief meets Palestinian PM
Updated 31 May 2023

Arab League chief meets Palestinian PM

Arab League chief meets Palestinian PM
  • Meeting discussed the outcomes of a recent summit in Jeddah on issues relating to Palestine

CAIRO: Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Wednesday met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh while visiting the Egyptian capital Cairo, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

During the meeting, they discussed the outcomes of a recent summit in Jeddah on issues relating to Palestine, including Arab efforts to promote international support for the recognition of the Palestinian state.

They also agreed on the importance of working diplomatically to highlight the Israeli government’s approach to dealing with Palestinian issues.