After Assad's fall: what will happen to his drug empire?

Syria - Syrian despot Bashar al-Assad (59) fled head over heels to Russia . His billion-dollar drug empire remained behind.

The Assad regime flooded large parts of the Arab world with the drug Captagon.
The Assad regime flooded large parts of the Arab world with the drug Captagon.  © OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP

The Assad clan raked in billions with the drug Captagon. The fighters of the so-called "Islamic State" committed their crimes with the "little man's cocaine" in their blood.

Until the very end, the dictator had the yellow pills produced on a grand scale in improvised drug laboratories in northern Syria.

The regime is said to have made around five billion euros a year from the drug, according to the newspaper"The National".

The flourishing trade was organized by the younger brother of dictator Maher al-Assad (57). The commander of the particularly notorious Fourth Division, who has since gone into hiding, is regarded as the regime's bloodhound. His men are said to have organized the transport of raw materials from Iraq to Syria and from there the smuggling to neighbouring Arab states. The Arab Gulf states were particularly affected by Captagon. However, the drug was also on the rise in Germany recently , warned the BKA in 2023.

According to a report by the Israeli news portal Ynet, the substance was also found in the belongings and vehicles of neutralized Hamas terrorists after the massacre on October 7.

Captagon is closely related to the horror drug methamphetamine. The drug makes you euphoric, aggressive and, above all, alert. Those who consume it can go for days without sleeping or eating. The potential for addiction is high.

Maher als-Assad (57), the little brother of the ousted dictator, is said to have organized the flourishing trade in the drug. He was considered the regime's bloodhound. He is responsible for numerous crimes against humanity.
Maher als-Assad (57), the little brother of the ousted dictator, is said to have organized the flourishing trade in the drug. He was considered the regime's bloodhound. He is responsible for numerous crimes against humanity.  © Propaganda: Facebook/Syrian Arab Army
Members of the notorious Fourth Division were regarded as particularly fanatical Assad supporters. They took care of the details of the Captagon smuggling.
Members of the notorious Fourth Division were regarded as particularly fanatical Assad supporters. They took care of the details of the Captagon smuggling.  © Propaganda: Facebook/Syrian Arab Army
A look inside a Captagon laboratory. A tablet costs 20 euros on the streets of the Gulf States.
A look inside a Captagon laboratory. A tablet costs 20 euros on the streets of the Gulf States.  © JOSEPH EID / AFP

Is the Captagon glut now looming?

Captagon production came to a standstill after the fall of Assad, "The National" reported further. The new rulers have closed laboratories and smuggling has fallen by up to 90 percent, according to the report in the Abu Dhabi newspaper.

But experts are concerned: the standstill in smuggling is unlikely to last long, security analyst Nicholas Krohley told the paper. He assumes that militias allied with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Iraq will take advantage of the vacuum and soon ramp up production again.

According to the report, the new rulers in Syria are also dependent on income from the Captagon trade. The drug could once again become a "means of generating revenue, offering services and competing for influence".

The expert says: "It depends on what happens politically in Syria now."