Assad regime profiting from illicit captagon trade: UK

BEIRUT, Lebanon

The British Embassy in Lebanon said Wednesday that the Syrian regime is profiting from the illicit captagon trade.

The accusation came one day after the US Treasury Department designated six individuals for supporting the Bashar al-Assad regime and the production or export of captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine that is used throughout the Middle East.

Among those designated are two cousins of Assad in addition to Lebanese individuals.

"The UK and US have imposed sanctions on those responsible for the illicit captagon trade, which is estimated to be worth up to $57 billion to the Assad regime," the embassy said in a statement.

It added that the Syrian regime is responsible for nearly 80% of the captagon's world supply.

“Trade in the drug is a financial lifeline for the Assad regime,” the statement said, adding that the regime is using its strongholds such as the Port of Latakia for shipping the drug.

“The production and trafficking of captagon enriches Assad’s inner circle, militias and warlords, at the expense of the Syrian people who continue to face crippling poverty and repression at the hands of the regime,” it added.

The statement accused Maher Al-Assad, a brother of the Syrian regime head, of commanding an army unit to facilitate the distribution and production of the drug.

“The Assad regime is using the profits from the captagon trade to continue their campaign of terror on the Syrian people,” the embassy said. “The Assad regime, Hezbollah, and other Iranian-backed militia all facilitate the captagon industry, and in doing so fuel regional instability and create a growing addiction crisis across the region.”

“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,” the statement concluded.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar