By Anas al-Bar | 2023-08-28

Iran-backed militia groups continue to defy increased security measures by conducting smuggling activities by land, sea and air across the Middle East.

Groups of fighters and shipments of weapons and missiles continue to flow into Syrian territory by way of roads controlled by these groups, sources tell Al-Fassel.

Militias linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also play a pivotal role in facilitating the smuggling of crystal methamphetamine and Captagon, which is trafficked from Syria into Iraq, and from there to its final destination in Gulf countries.

These groups actively smuggle medicine, fuel, sheep, crops, tobacco, household goods and even stolen private and public property, such as electric cables and scrap metal, sources say.

Syrian journalist Ahed al-Salibi told Al-Fassel that the Iraqi Kataib Hizbullah group and other Iran-aligned militias oversee the smuggling operations, which bring a variety of items -- including contraband -- into Syria.

The covert methods used to smuggle militants and materials have not changed over the years, al-Salibi said.

These methods often include hiding weapons, missile parts and lethal equipment aboard trucks loaded with vegetables and fruits, convoys carrying humanitarian aid shipments, or buses carrying civilians on their way to visit religious sites in Syria, he said.

Most smuggling activities have been taking place through a military border crossing in the town of al-Humaida in rural Albu Kamal, which is under the total control of Kataib Hizbullah and other Iran-allied groups, he noted.

Some smuggling, albeit to a lesser extent, is also done through the border crossing of al-Qaim, he said.

Militias harm economy, put locals at risk

Al-Salibi said serious disagreements and clashes often break out over smuggling revenues among the militias controlling unofficial border crossings in Syria.

Violent clashes have erupted in past months between Iraqi factions, most notably between Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Sayyed al-Shuhada on one side, and Kataib Hizbullah on the other side.

Elements of Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Sayyed al-Shuhada have complained that Akram Abu Rama, a prominent Kataib Hizbullah commander, has monopolized the control of the border crossings and seized all smuggling revenues.

The main smuggling crossing of Sikak, located in the Syrian town of al-Hari, has repeatedly been closed amid recent clashes, al-Salibi said.

The closure of the crossing was ordered by Haj Abbas, an IRGC official based in Albu Kamal.

While there is no precise estimate of the revenue Iran-backed militias make from smuggling, reports put the number at millions of dollars per week.

The militias' ongoing smuggling activities harm the Iraqi economy as well as the residents of Syria's border towns, as they cause an increase in the prices of basic commodities, especially food.

Residents of Syrian border towns are grappling with dire economic conditions, coupled with widespread complaints even among those who are loyal to the Syrian regime, said al-Salibi.

Moreover, the militias put residents' lives at risk by turning their towns into warehouses for storing weapons, ammunition, and medium and long-range missiles, he said.

Since 2017, the IRGC has sought to exert influence in Deir Ezzor and turn the border area into a "major smuggling artery" that supports the interests of its militias and serves Iran's expansionist policies in the Middle East, he added.

Militias spread chaos

Nawras al-Arfi, a journalist with Euphrates Eye Network, said IRGC affiliates are attempting to erase the borders between Iraq and Syria.

"The militias claim they are stationed at the border strip to protect it from the 'Islamic State of Iraq and Syria' (ISIS), but this is only a pretext, as their true objective is to dominate the border area and smuggle whatever they want, without any supervision or accountability," al-Arfi said.

Today, these militias are using covert roads, tunnels and shelters that were dug by ISIS during the time it occupied Deir Ezzor towns -- to hide weapons smuggled from Iran through Iraq, he told Al-Fassel.

The weapons are then transported by land, sea, or air to the Lebanese Hizbullah, the Iran-backed Yemeni Houthis, and other Iranian proxies, who use them to destabilize the region and make it unsafe, he said.

Iran-backed militias also wreak havoc by producing and spreading narcotics and illegal drugs such as Captagon and methamphetamine (crystal meth), al-Arfi said.

Syria has become a global leader in the production of Captagon, much of which is trafficked through Lebanon via Hizbullah.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle is deeply embroiled in the illicit trade and enables, facilitates and reaps enormous profits from manufacturing and trafficking Captagon and other illegal drugs throughout the region.

In the border areas -- al-Qaim, Albu Kamal and al-Hari -- the militias' malign presence has mired the locals' lives in misery and poverty, making them the largest group of Iran's victims, al-Salibi said.

"IRGC militias harass the residents and destroy their lives and livelihoods as they attempt to drive them to join their ranks. They intend to use them as fodder in the Iranian regime's wars, interventions and absurd policies," he said.

Successful security operations

In the past eight months, Iraqi forces have arrested about 10,000 individuals accused of drug trafficking and smuggling during operations in Baghdad, Basra, Maysan other areas, according to official statistics.

Iraq dismantled on July 16 a Captagon factory in the southern province of al-Muthanna -- the first of its kind in Iraq.

Iraqi authorities said they had never before found laboratories that produce illicit drugs, which are usually smuggled into Iraq from Iran and Syria.

Between January and the end of June, a total of about 600kg of illicit narcotics have been seized -- mostly crystal meth, hashish and Captagon.

The quantities of narcotics seized in the first half of this year are greater than those seized in the past two years, General Directorate for Narcotics Affairs spokesman Hussein al-Tamimi told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) on July 16.

A month earlier, Oman announced on June 22 the breakup of an international drug smuggling network and the seizure of more than six million Captagon pills during a Royal Oman Police (ROP) bust aided by Saudi Arabia.

The network had been smuggling drugs across land and sea borders, the official Oman News Agency said.

The drugs were stored in various hideouts and were intended for exporting.

"The smugglers' camouflage was smart, but smarter monitoring by the ROP's Directorate General for Combating Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and concerned Saudi authorities botched the heist," the agency said.

At sea, regional coast guards and international maritime forces are also at work to clamp down on illicit trade.

Two fishing vessels that departed from the Iranian port of Chabahar in mid-May carrying massive shipments of potentially deadly illegal drugs never made it to their final destination, thanks to the vigilance of the multinational Combined Maritime Forces (CMF).

As the vessels transited the Gulf of Oman, on May 8 and May 10, they were interdicted by a US Coast Guard fast response cutter, operating as part of Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150).

CTF 150 is one of five task forces operated by CMF -- a 34-national maritime coalition. It focuses on counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics, with notable results.

Since 2021, the CMF has seized more than $1 billion in illegal drugs while patrolling waters across the Middle East.