By Anas al-Bar | 2025-03-31

Regional drug trafficking networks that thrived under the Syrian regime continue to unravel after its fall, as Iran-backed militias that profited from the trade face mounting losses, security experts said.

Iraqi security forces recently seized a 1.1 ton shipment of Captagon originating from Syria as it attempted to enter Iraq from Türkiye, the Interior Ministry said.

Ministry footage released March 16 showed the illicit drugs being transferred between trucks near the Iraq-Türkiye border, with the pills concealed in ironing boards, AFP reported.

Coordination with Kurdish Region authorities and "very important information" from Saudi forces contributed to the operation's success, said ministry spokesman Gen. Moqdad Miri.

He highlighted Iraq's advances in drug enforcement, via "modern technology, evolving strategies and unprecedented intelligence-sharing with regional and international anti-narcotics organizations."

Between 2019 and 2023, 82% of Captagon seized in the Middle East originated from Syria, with Lebanon accounting for 17%, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Syria emerged as the world's largest producer of Captagon under the regime of Bashar al-Assad, with his brother Maher, commander of the 4th Division, protecting drug shipments through regime-controlled areas.

The regime's drug enterprise flourished through its partnership with Iran-backed Iraqi militias that established a presence along the Iraq-Syria border.

Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Harakat al-Nujaba, Kataib Hizbullah and others transformed Iraq into a trafficking corridor and "major market" for Captagon, the Heritage Foundation said.

"Many groups are involved in enabling drug operations between Syria and Iraq," Chatham House consulting fellow Haid Haid said in May 2022. "However, Kataib Hizbullah reportedly has the most influence over this trafficking business."

'Economic lifeline' severed

Drug trafficking serves as "the economic lifeline providing funds for militant groups allied with Iran," security expert Alaa al-Nashou told Al-Fassel.

"This trade typically operates through criminal networks that receive protection and facilitation from powerful factions to continue moving drugs into Iraq and neighboring countries," he said.

"Most drug trafficking is done in coordination with smugglers, which gives the armed factions plausible deniability if these shipments are intercepted by the authorities," Haid's field research shows.

"After securing transportation for the narcotics inside Syria, smugglers move the illicit substances to Iraqi trucks in coordination with the respective armed groups," he said. "In exchange for safe passage, the Iraqi factions charge fees."

But now Lebanese Hizbullah is operationally paralyzed, and Kataib Hizbullah has been destabilized by the loss of its Syria operations commander, Wissam Mohammed Saber al-Saedi (aka Abu Baqir al-Saedi), in a US strike in Baghdad.

With these losses and setbacks, the Iran-backed 'axis' that controlled the drug trade now faces unprecedented disruption.