In early September 2022 , Syria ’ s Ministry of Interior released a video showing dozens of seized hummus bowls . A bowl is subsequently picked up and peeled with a knife , revealing that the bowls were concealing an illicit drug called Captagon . According to the Ministry , pills had been crushed and the resulting paste had been used to mold pottery-like dishes in an attempt to sneak the drug past authorities . 1 While this may simply seem to be another innovation by traffickers in an ongoing game of cat-and-mouse with authorities , beneath the surface of Captagon trade , a complicated picture involving alleged complicity at the highest levels of the Syrian regime is concealed , as well as use and abuse by Islamic terrorists in combat , and attempts to lessen the impact of widespread international sanctions .
What is Captagon ?
Captagon is an amphetamine-type stimulant with addictive properties , widely used recreationally across the Middle East and popular among partygoers , those seeking a quick way to lose weight , and stressed-out students — with Saudi Arabia being the largest market . Sometimes known as “ poor man ’ s cocaine ” and “ the jihadists ’ drug ,” Captagon has been used by armed groups to numb fears and enhance courage . A relatively lesser-known illicit substance in Europe and North America , estimates of the size of the trade have ranged substantially , generally within the single-digit billions of U . S . dollars . 2 Earlier this year , however , the U . K . government made a staggering assessment which placed the value of the illicit trade as sitting at $ 57 billion — around three times the combined trade of the Mexican cartels . 3 Eighty percent of the world ’ s Captagon is estimated to be produced in Syria and is transshipped through neighboring jurisdictions — particularly Lebanon — to the wider Middle Eastern market and beyond .
Tracing Captagon ’ s story
Created in Germany in the 1960s as a drug designed for the medical treatment of depression and narcolepsy , Captagon was banned in 1981 by the U . S . and successively became illegal in most countries in the world — catalyzed by its listing in 1986 under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances by the World Health Organization . Captagon contains fenethylline , which is controlled in the U . S . under Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act . 4 When manufacturing of this substance ceased in the 1980s , counterfeit pills appeared — especially in the drug markets in the Middle East . In the early 1990s , Captagon enjoyed an already remarkable appeal for recreative use in the region , but it has experienced a renaissance in terms of revenues and spread in the aftermath of the Arab Spring in 2011 . The geopolitical developments in North Africa and the Middle East at that time boosted Captagon production and provided it with something that it had not previously had : Geopolitical relevance . In this context , the production and use of the substance were related to two main trends : a ) the rise of jihadi groups such as the Islamic State , that used Captagon for medical treatment and to motivate their fighters on the frontline , and b ) the reliance on Captagon trade and production by political regimes as an alternative asset to ensure the wealth of their leaders and to procure hard cash to finance the bureaucracy and the military — especially in the face of economic disruptors such as international economic sanctions . The case of the Assad regime in Syria provides an example of the latter trend . 5
Syria — together with Lebanon — was a hot spot for Captagon production since the early 2000s , but it was the start of the civil war of 2011 that made Damascus a key player in this business . The primary reasons behind the explosion of the Captagon economy in the country are twofold . First , actors within Syria — including high-level officials in the regime of Bashar Assad — seemingly decided to turn to drug market revenues in the face of the implosion of the Syrian licit economy . It further enabled the regime to counter the effects of
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