Under Assad: Syria's multi-billion dollar drug business

 

 'After more than ten years of civil war, Syria is economically on the ground. According to estimates by the UN, more than 13 million people out of the approximately 20 million inhabitants are dependent on humanitarian aid. The régime under ruler Bashar al-Assad and his followers found their own answer to the economic misery caused by war and sanctions: the illegal drug Captagon.

 As current research by the New York Times (NYT) shows, Syria has developed into a new drug state in recent years with a mass production of Captagon in particular. This synthetic drug is of particular concern in the Gulf region and increasingly also in Jordan. This multi-billion dollar drug industry was built by powerful associates and relatives of Assad. In addition to Captagon, according to regional security officials, more dangerous drugs such as crystal meth are increasingly finding their way onto the transport routes.

 The system is sophisticated. The production facilities are spread all over the country, and new methods of hiding-place are constantly being used to transport the pills - in hollow pomegranates, in coffee packages and enclosed in lead ingots, which are transported on via our own smuggling networks. As the Economist reported in the summer, production and sales are under the control of the fourth armored division of the Syrian army, which is led by Assad's brother, Maher al-Assad. According to the NYT, Hezbollah also has its fingers in the game. Production sites are militarily guarded or are in a restricted military area.

 The NYT based its research on interviews with law enforcement officers in several countries, incumbent and former US officials and Syrians with knowledge of the drug trade. Based on this information and on the basis of pills also confiscated in Europe, it is shown how much drug exports from Syria have recently increased. Drug experts believe that the material found is only a small fraction of the actual amount. In any case, it shows the enormous increase in the recent past.

 This year alone, according to the NYT, over 250 million pills have been confiscated - more than 18 times what was found four years ago. There were also seizures in several European countries. Only last year were 84 million pills seized in Italy, this May in Malaysia 94 million pills were found sealed in rubber wagon wheels. 

 The main buyers for Syrian drugs in the Gulf States are, however, primarily in Saudi Arabia. The previous transit state, Jordan, is also increasingly becoming a buyer. The amount seized in the previous year has doubled compared to the previous year, according to the Jordanian drug unit. Consumers are primarily young people.

 The Syrian régime could also use this in regional power struggles. Malik al-Abdeh, a Syrian observer close to the opposition, says the régime is using "drugs as a weapon against the Gulf States": "The message is: normalize relations or we will destroy your youth," he told the Economist.



 The drug with the amphetamine fenethylline was used by a German pharmaceutical company from the 1960s as a drug against ADHD, for example. Because it was addictive, it was banned internationally in the late 1980s. It was still produced illegally. During the Syrian war, fighters from all sides took the drug - including members of the terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS). In the Gulf region, Captagon is still heavily consumed in leisure time. The illegal version of Captagon usually includes several amphetamines, caffeine, and other fillers.

 The entire drug business dwarfs Syria's legal exports - especially agricultural products - and is reportedly done with the support of the régime. According to the NYT, the Captagon seizures last year were worth around 2.9 billion US dollars (2.6 billion euros) - more than three times the legal exports from Syria. According to the Economist, the value of all drugs confiscated from Syria was $ 3.4 billion. The magazine cites research by the consulting firm Center for Operational Analysis and Research (COAR).

 “It is literally the Syrian government that is exporting the drugs. It's not thatthey look the other way while the drug cartels do their thing. They are the drug cartel, "said the former US special envoy for Syria, Joel Rayburn, in the NYT interview. Some of the business people involved in the drug business also supported Assad's presidential candidacy in the election in May this year, for example through rallies and poster campaigns.

The drug business is indirectly an important pillar of Assad's stay in power. For Jihad Yazigi, editor of the Syria Report with a focus on the Syrian economy, Captagon is now Syria's most important source of foreign currency. However, this income would not benefit the state. Nothing will change in the economically dramatic situation for the population. Yazigi: "The income is largely invested in the accounts of smugglers and warlords." '

'My brother went to Syria to help refugees, instead he was tortured and killed with thousands still wrongly imprisoned'

 

 'In November 2012, a doctor from South London made his way to Turkey to treat refugees, he then went onto treat those injured from a hospital bomb after crossing into Syria.

 After this, Dr Abbas Khan, from Streatham, was "never a free man again" according to chief coroner, Peter Thornton.

 On November 22, 2012, the 32-year-old father-of-two was captured by Syrian officials and his family reported him missing.

 Just over a year later on December 16, 2013, Dr Khan's family received the news of his death - it has been eight years since.

 The time in between has been pieced together by Dr Khan's mum, Fatima Khan, who visited Syria in hopes of locating her son, as well as witness statements of those imprisoned with Dr Khan.



 What is understood is that the British orthopaedic surgeon, who had worked at Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, was wrongly captured and placed in an underground cell.

 During this time, he was tortured in a prison in Damascus for eight months.

 His resilient mother, Fatima, had gone to Syria to search for him and managed to locate him in the summer of 2013 after visiting a number of embassies.

 Upon meeting him, she found he had burns on his feet, a missing fingernail and weighed just 32kg - conditions in the cell were horrific, with mice, faeces and cockroaches.

 He told his mum that he had been imprisoned on acts of terrorism for treating dying civilians.



 In December 2013, the Syrian régime claimed he would be freed - but just days before his release he was found dead in his cell, with officials claiming he hanged himself.

 Fatima was told her son had killed himself.

 In 2014, a jury at his inquest returned the verdict that he had in fact been unlawfully killed - with Dr Khan's family always maintaining that he was murdered in custody.

 “Dr Khan was deliberately and intentionally killed without any legal justification,” said the jury forewoman.

 The same year, two Syrian prisoners came forward and said Dr Khan was "killed for the brutality he witnessed".

 The British Foreign Office also agrees that he was "in effect murdered" and just this month another witness came forward about the horrific treatment inside the Syrian prison.



 American medical aid worker Kevin Dawes was also detained just days after entering Syria in 2012, he spoke about what he suffered during his three and a half years in detention.

 Kevin met Dr Abbas Khan during his time there and said they were placed in adjacent cells.

 "We were able to speak to each other under the door. They would scald him with hot water and beat him. They did the same to me," he said.

 When Dr Khan's mum Fatima came to see him, he told her to alert the US embassy about Kevin's imprisonment.

 That is when his treatment improved, "I owe Abbas a lot," he said.

 But eight years since his death, there are still questions unanswered and justice is yet to be served.

 Although witness statements have been gathered and a case is being built, it's unclear whether the Syrian régime will ever be held accountable.

 But Dr Khan's sister, Sarah Khan, is hopeful.



 She said: "We've been collecting evidence the eight years, we're receiving new witness statements every few months from detainees who saw Abbas or those who have more details of his murder. We'll be submitting evidence to the Met. We're looking for a mechanism to be able to hold them accountable. There was a famous case recently in Germany which was successful, against a member of the Syrian régime guilty of torturing.

 Kevin Dawes statement is further proof of Abbas' incarceration in a military prison and his torture. We hope and pray for both Kevin and Abbas' family to receive the justice they deserve."

 Today is the eight year death anniversary of Dr Abbas Khan, and there are still thousands of foreigners unlawfully imprisoned in Syria.

 Sarah says: "Although eight years have passed, we feel no different in our want for justice. No family should have to go through what we have and unfortunately there are still hundreds imprisoned in Syria, being tortured and murdered. We will continue to search for evidence and witnesses to push our case. This isn't just justice for Abbas solely, if we succeed in bringing a case against a brutal régime and they are held accountable for their heinous crimes we will be protecting other humanitarian aid workers who put their lives at risk to save others." '

Displaced residents of Syria's Tal Rifaat yearn for home

 

  'Nearly a quarter of a million people displaced by the terrorist group PKK's Syrian offshoot YPG, who sought asylum near the border with Turkey, wait for the day to return to their beloved homes.

 Most of the civilians whose relatives were killed by the terrorist organization live in the opposition-controlled Azaz district in makeshift tents.

 Haj Ali Muhammed, one such person, said: "When the attacks occurred, we left our house and hid under the olive trees for about 10 days. We tried to migrate to a safe zone.

 "As a result of the firing, two of my sons lost their lives. I am looking after five orphans now."

 Longing for home, he said: "We will not leave our homes to the terrorist organization, we will definitely return ... Maybe I will not be able to go back, but we look at our village from the front line every day. I tell my grandchildren about our village and its stories. Even if I don't, my grandchildren will definitely return."

 Mostafa Ibrahim Akkas said that he took shelter with his family in Azaz after YPG/PKK attacks on their village, Meranaz, north of Tal Rifaat.

 The 46-year-old father said he lost one of his sons in a YPG/PKK attack.

 He said the terrorist group is trying to disunite Arabs and Kurds in the region.

 "We do not have a problem with the Kurds. The terrorist organization has no place in Syria. I want not only my village but all of Syria to be cleared of this terrorist organization," Akkas said.

 The terrorist organization, which captured Tal Rifaat in February 2016 with Russian air support, frequently attacks Turkish forces and opposition fighters – who provide security to civilian settlements in the Operation Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch regions.

 The attacks often target the northern Syrian regions of Azaz, Marea, al-Bab, Jarablus, Afrin, Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain.'