According to reports from an opposition war monitor and a pro-government radio station, airstrikes over southern Syria on Monday resulted in the death of one of the country’s most prominent drug dealers, along with his wife and six children. The strikes came just a day after Syria was reinstated to the Arab League by Arab governments, following the country’s suspension for its crackdown on protests.
With the rekindling of ties between Arab governments and Damascus, one of the key topics of discussion has been Syria’s thriving illicit drug industry. The ongoing conflict in Syria has reportedly led to an increase in the production and distribution of illegal amphetamine captagon, which is estimated to have generated billions of dollars in revenue for President Bashar Assad, his Syrian associates, and allies.
Despite these accusations, Damascus has denied any involvement in the drug trade. However, the issue has become a source of concern for Western governments and has been a topic of discussion in international forums.
The airstrikes on Monday, which reportedly targeted the drug dealer’s location in southern Syria, are seen as a significant development in the fight against the illicit drug industry in the country. It remains to be seen whether these strikes will have a lasting impact on the drug trade in Syria or if it will merely be a temporary setback.
According to reports from the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and other sources, a series of airstrikes hit southern Syria on Monday. The first airstrike reportedly hit a home in the village of Shuab in Sweida province, which is located near the Jordanian border. The strike resulted in the deaths of Merhi Ramthan, a well-known drug dealer in the region, along with his wife and six children. The second strike hit a building in the southern province of Daraa, according to the opposition war monitor and pro-government radio station Sham FM. The building that was hit was reportedly a drug factory, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The airstrikes come just one day after Arab governments reinstated Syria to the Arab League, following the country’s suspension for its crackdown on protests. The ongoing conflict in Syria has created an environment in which the illicit drug industry, particularly the production and trafficking of the illegal amphetamine captagon, has flourished. Western governments estimate that captagon has generated billions of dollars in revenue for President Bashar Assad, his Syrian associates, and allies. The issue of Syria’s drug industry has been a key topic of discussion as Arab governments gradually rekindle ties with Damascus. Despite these estimates, Damascus has denied any involvement in the drug trade.
The pro-government radio station did not provide any further information, and there has been no immediate response from Jordanian or Syrian officials. Activists and the war monitor have suggested that Jordan is likely responsible for the airstrike, as the captagon producer was on the Jordanian authorities’ most-wanted list for facilitating drug smuggling across the border with the help of a small militia. They also claim that he has close ties to militias associated with Assad and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Jordan has frequently reported busting drug smuggling operations on its border with Syria, and its soldiers have sometimes engaged in shootouts with drug cartels attempting to cross from southern Syria. In recent years, Jordanian authorities have uncovered millions of smuggled captagon pills, many of which were sent to wealthy Gulf nations. Both Syria and neighboring Lebanon have become gateways for the drug to the Middle East, and especially to the Gulf.
In March, the United States and the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on four Syrians and two Lebanese involved in captagon production and trafficking. The six individuals included cousins of the Syrian president and well-known Lebanese drug kingpins. Several weeks later, the European Union imposed sanctions on various Syrians, including members of Assad’s family, accusing them of narcotics production and trafficking, particularly captagon.
