Cyprus is in the midst of the new 'Narcos'

by Yannis Ioannou

Since December 20, cannabis has been washing up on the shores of free and occupied Famagusta, specifically over 100 kilos of packaged Indian hemp were collected by police.  But the news should not be surprising even though the drugs did not seem to come from the occupied areas. Since 2016, the maritime routes in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly along the Syrian and Lebanese coasts, have become alternative highways where drug trafficking runs rampant, particularly cannabis (processed as resin/hashish or raw as flowers) and Captagon, a type of amphetamine and theophylline prodrug that was dubbed "the jihadists' pill" when first introduced in the region.  Cyprus is geographically located in the middle of the new Middle Eastern Narcos routes, but there have been no incidents of Captagon (of Arabic origin) importation since 2016 - in comparison to other popular synthetic drugs on the island such as MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine or simply Ecstasy). The issue, however, will be of future concern to Cyprus and has geopolitical implications due to the US's keen interest due to Assad's involvement.

The King of Captagon

The Assad family in Syria has allegedly been personally involved in the drug trade in recent years, with Captagon found in areas controlled by the Bashar al-Assad regime. The latter is even given the title "King of Captagon" in US reports on the proliferation of drugs in the Middle East. Syria's difficult economic situation after more than ten years of war, combined with the political and economic collapse of neighboring Lebanon (which had a 'tradition' of hashish production due to the de facto state of lawlessness in the Bekaa Valley for decades), have turned the two countries into hubs for the production, storage, and trafficking of the synthetic drug, with all MENA countries and the two major Gulf markets (Saudi Arabia and the UAE) being the main recipients.  International agencies estimated Captagon (and hashish) trafficking profits in 2020 at $3.46 billion, with the same profits expected to increase to $5.7 billion in 2021. According to US think tanks, the net value of Syrian narcotics "exports" could reach $30 billion.

While Cyprus has seen drug packages wash up on its shores, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have recently seized massive amounts of Captagon and hashish - arriving by land, sea, and even circumnavigating - from the Syrian coast - the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Persian Gulf! 

And the cross-border drug trade between Syria and Jordan appears to be destabilizing areas of the latter, with the US expressing a direct interest in assisting the country's authorities in combating a new drug route along the two countries' porous border.

The main drug production areas in neighboring Syria are depicted on this map. The coasts opposite Cyprus (Latakia and Tartous) are literally both trafficking and production hubs for captagon and hashish. Furthermore, before Captagon, Indian cannabis was used to support many anti-Syrian militias, members of the official Syrian army, and Lebanese Hezbollah, which has had a strong presence in Syria since 2011 and the start of the war, across the border between Syria and Lebanon. The areas controlled by Turkey and the pro-Turkish Sunni armed opposition are also a traditional site of cross-border drug importation, with the Turkish market serving as the primary recipient.  The scenario of systematic drug transport - by sea - from Syria and Lebanon to the occupied areas, but also free, regions is one that may be of concern in the future. Source: COAR

The United States is on the offensive

The issue of the Assad family's connection to Captagon not only concerns the United States but also resulted in the passage of the "Captagon Act" as part of the National Defense Act, which was signed by US President Biden just before Christmas. With the "Captagon Act" adopting an acronym referring to the Syrian President (Countering Assad's Proliferation Trafficking And Narcotics Act), the US is demonstrating at the federal and international (and regional) levels not only an attempt to directly link Damascus and drugs in the region but also a global policy of cracking down on their production and trafficking with a focus on the Eastern Mediterranean. The benefits of such a drug trafficking activity are an important parameter for the political survival of Assad-type leaders and for the financing of international Islamic terrorism or militias acting for or against the actor in question in Syria.

This US action, involving various actors (Pentagon, State Department, federal security agencies, etc.), is expected to intensify in 2023, providing excellent opportunities for joint actions in the fields of police cooperation, international security, and the provision of expertise in investigation and combating drug trafficking - also in Cyprus in the context of deepening bilateral relations.

[This article was translated from its Greek original]