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HTS gov’t seized all the Captagon factories
[AnNahar] Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab said Wednesday that authorities had seized all production facilities of illicit stimulant captagon, which became Syria's largest export under ousted ruler Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... In an interview with state television , Khattab said that "we were able to stop the production of this drug and seize all the materials and factories that were producing" captagon. "There are now no more factories producing captagon in Syria," he said. Most of the factories, which he said numbered in the dozens, were located "in the Damascus countryside and a large number in the Lebanese border area" as well as on the coast. "Most were in areas under the control of the former Fourth Division," he said, referring to the notorious Syrian army division headed by Assad's brother Maher. Captagon became Syria's largest export during the civil war that erupted in 2011, and a key source of illicit funding for Assad's government. Since his overthrow in December, the new Islamist authorities have announced the discovery of millions of captagon pills in warehouses and on military bases. Last month, authorities said they had thwarted an attempt to smuggle out four million captagon pills, days after seizing another nine million that were headed for ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... Neighboring countries also occasionally announce captagon seizures. "Shipments initially prepared for export have been intercepted" daily, Khattab said, noting Syria has begun coordinating with countries including neighboring Jordan and Turkey as well as Saudi Arabia  ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...-- a key market for the drug The interior minister also noted other security challenges, including Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... (IS) group jihadists who according to Khattab had moved from "absurd acts... to studied attacks on strategic targets". Last month, IS claimed its first attack on Syria's new government forces. Also last month, Syrian authorities said they arrested members of an Islamic State cell near Damascus, accusing them of preparing attacks, while another anti-IS operation in the northern city of Aleppo saw the death of one security forces officer and three IS members. Khattab said IS had also attempted "to carry out attacks against the Christian and Shiite community" that the authorities had thwarted. Once in control of large swathes of Syria and Iraq, IS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 largely due to the efforts of Kurdish-led forces supported by an international coalition. Reported IS attacks in areas controlled by the Syria's Islamist-led authorities have been scarce, while frequent attacks have persisted in areas under Kurdish control in the country's north and northeast. Related: Anas Khattab 04/17/2025 Syria thwarts coup d'etat plotted by former army officers Anas Khattab 04/11/2025 US maintains non-recognition of any entity as the Syrian government: Spox Anas Khattab 03/31/2025 Syria's new cabinet draws criticism over controversial appointments, Syrian Kurds reject it altogether Related: Captagon 05/25/2025 Syria reboots interior ministry as Damascus seeks to reassure West Captagon 03/12/2025 Syrian government said to reach deal to fully integrate southern Druze province Captagon 02/15/2025 Remnants of Hezbollah drug ops found in abandoned factories in Syria Related: Maher Assad 12/15/2024 Reuters: Large lab for producing 'jihad drug' found in Syria Maher Assad 12/14/2024 Bashar al-Assad’s inner circle: Who are they and where are they now? Maher Assad 12/14/2024 Syrian rebels find heaps of illicit stimulant trafficked by Assad regime Posted by: trailing wife 2025-06-06 |
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