Captagon

A recent report published by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), an investigative reporting organisation, implicates Syrian businessmen and criminals close to the Assad family and a Libyan gang in a 2018 Greek drug bust and traces the shipment of drugs back to the Lattakia port.

After months of bilateral visits and negotiations, Syria and Jordan decided to reopen their common border crossing on August 01.

Turkey and Jordan last week seized two large shipments of drugs originating in Syria, underscoring the scale of the drug trade in the country’s economy and its importance as a source of foreign currency.

Romania has seized a shipment of Captagon pills originating from Syria, confirming the country’s position as the world’s main producer of the drug as well as the drug’s importance for the local economy.

The sharp rise in the cost of raw materials is leading to a shortage of paper products, including schoolbooks, despite a recent increase in local production capacity.

United Nations agencies directly awarded Syrian companies some USD 200 million worth of contracts in 2019, an increase of three percent over the previous year.