Assad’s cousin hit with sanctions over amphetamine deal to fund regime
The US and UK have imposed sanctions on a cousin of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who was allegedly involved in manufacturing and exporting Captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine.
Sanctions were imposed on Tuesday on four Syrians allegedly involved in the illegal trade, including the president’s cousins Samer Kamal and Wasim Badia al-Assad, and two Lebanese drug lords.
The UK has targeted five more people, including militia leaders and businessmen, over their ties to the Captagon trade, which they estimated was worth $57 billion in annual revenues to Damascus.
“Drug trafficking is the lifeblood of the economy in the United States. Assad regimee — Worth about three times the total value of the Mexican cartel transaction. ” Britain said in a statement announced sanctions.
Its trade “enriches Assad’s inner circle, militias and warlords at the expense of the Syrian people, who continue to face devastating poverty and oppression at the hands of the regime”.
Estimates of market size and value vary, but Captagon’s deal has long been associated with the Syrian conflict and is now in its 13th year. Warriors on the battlefield took it frequently to suppress appetite and improve focus.
In recent years, as economic crises in Lebanon and Syria have worsened, experts have warned that trade is widening.Millions of Syrian Captagon Pills Worth Billions of Dollars confiscated By the authorities of the Middle East countries and Southern Europe, where experts report market growth.
Its sheer size has led analysts to conclude that the Assad regime, which has regained control of two-thirds of Syria, is complicit in the trade. Experts added that Hezbollah, Lebanese extremist movements and other Iran-linked militias in the region are behind the drug surge.
Hezbollah and the Assad regime have denied any involvement in drug production and trafficking.
Among the four Syrians targeted by both Washington and London was businessman Khalid Kadur. Kador, along with two of Assad’s cousins, have been accused of having an affair with the president’s brother Maher, who leads the Syrian Army’s 4th Division.
announced sanctions, The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control states: Maher and the 4th Division were known to engage in illicit trade, ranging from smuggling cigarettes and mobile phones to facilitating Captagon manufacturing and human trafficking.
“It is reportedly Kadur who is responsible for managing the income generated by these activities,” Ofak said.
Samer Kamal al-Assad, working with “certain Hezbollah officials” and the 4th Division, oversaw drug production in the northern coastal city of Latakia, the US said. claims that $1.2 billion worth of tablets manufactured at its Latakia facility were seized at the Italian port of Salerno.
Meanwhile, Wasim Badia al-Assad, described by the United States as a “key figure in the regional drug trafficking network”, also heads a paramilitary force supporting the regime.
Most of the Captagon is manufactured in Syria, but much of it “is traded through Lebanon,” Ofak said.
Among those sanctioned were arms and drug trafficker Noah Seiter and dual citizen Hassan Dakow, dubbed “King of the Captagon” by local media.
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The US and UK have imposed sanctions on a cousin of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who was allegedly involved in manufacturing and exporting Captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine.Sanctions were imposed on Tuesday on four Syrians allegedly involved in the illegal trade, including the president’s cousins Samer Kamal and Wasim Badia al-Assad, and two Lebanese drug lords. The UK has targeted five more people, including militia leaders and businessmen, over their ties to the Captagon trade, which they estimated was worth $57 billion in annual revenues to Damascus.”Drug trafficking is the lifeblood of the economy in the United States. Assad regimee — Worth about three times the total value of the Mexican cartel transaction. ” Britain said in a statement announced sanctions. Its trade “enriches Assad’s inner circle, militias and warlords at the expense of the Syrian people, who continue to face devastating poverty and oppression at the hands of the regime”.Estimates of market size and value vary, but Captagon’s deal has long been associated with the Syrian conflict and is now in its 13th year. Warriors on the battlefield took it frequently to suppress appetite and improve focus. In recent years, as economic crises in Lebanon and Syria have worsened, experts have warned that trade is widening.Millions of Syrian Captagon Pills Worth Billions of Dollars confiscated By the authorities of the Middle East countries and Southern Europe, where experts report market growth. Its sheer size has led analysts to conclude that the Assad regime, which has regained control of two-thirds of Syria, is complicit in the trade. Experts added that Hezbollah, Lebanese extremist movements and other Iran-linked militias in the region are behind the drug surge. Hezbollah and the Assad regime have denied any involvement in drug production and trafficking. Among the four Syrians targeted by both Washington and London was businessman Khalid Kadur. Kador, along with two of Assad’s cousins, have been accused of having an affair with the president’s brother Maher, who leads the Syrian Army’s 4th Division. announced sanctions, The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control states: Maher and the 4th Division were known to engage in illicit trade, ranging from smuggling cigarettes and mobile phones to facilitating Captagon manufacturing and human trafficking.
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“It is reportedly Kadur who is responsible for managing the income generated by these activities,” Ofak said. Samer Kamal al-Assad, working with “certain Hezbollah officials” and the 4th Division, oversaw drug production in the northern coastal city of Latakia, the US said. claims that $1.2 billion worth of tablets manufactured at its Latakia facility were seized at the Italian port of Salerno. Meanwhile, Wasim Badia al-Assad, described by the United States as a “key figure in the regional drug trafficking network”, also heads a paramilitary force supporting the regime.Most of the Captagon is manufactured in Syria, but much of it “is traded through Lebanon,” Ofak said.Among those sanctioned were arms and drug trafficker Noah Seiter and dual citizen Hassan Dakow, dubbed “King of the Captagon” by local media.
https://www.ft.com/content/de522480-4738-49fb-985e-c0e1538846ff Assad’s cousin hit with sanctions over amphetamine deal to fund regime