The Syrian regime is participating today, Monday, July 22, in the second international drugs control conference, which is hosted by the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
According to the local newspaper Al-Watan, the conference started this morning under the patronage of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, and the Interior Minister, General Abdul Amir al-Shammari. The countries of Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Turkey, Lebanon, and Egypt are participating at the ministerial level.
On the evening of Sunday, July 21, the Interior Minister of the regime’s government, Mohammad Khaled al-Rahmoun, arrived in Baghdad to head the Syrian delegation participating in the conference.
Al-Watan quoted the Iraqi charge d’affaires in Syria, Yassin Sharif al-Hujaimi, saying that the main points to be discussed at the conference are the methods of drug smuggling in the participating countries, how to assist countries suffering from drug problems, and the areas where Captagon and other drugs are manufactured.
The conference will also discuss how to coordinate the pursuit of gangs working on drug smuggling in these countries and the routes smugglers take to traffic drugs.
The participants will also address statistics on the quantities of drugs seized and the accused individuals arrested in the years 2022, 2023, and the first half of the current year, along with statistics on the rates of drug promotion and abuse in the participating countries. They will also discuss ways to cooperate in extraditing wanted individuals.
Al-Hujaimi revealed that one of the most important outcomes of the conference will be the announcement of the establishment of an operations center named the “National Drug Control Center” headquartered in Baghdad. This center will include representatives from the countries participating in the conference and aims to enhance coordination among participants in drug control efforts.
The preliminary activities of the conference began in Baghdad on Saturday, July 20, under the slogan “Through Cooperation and Unity of Purpose, We Eliminate Drugs.” It was attended by the directors of drug control in the participating countries, the Arab Ministers of the Interior Council, and representatives from the United Nations. The Syrian regime was represented by the Director of the Drug Control Administration, General Nidal Jraij.
While the Syrian regime participates in the drug control conference, it remains the primary entity responsible for drug trafficking and trade toward neighboring countries, chiefly Jordan, which serves as a passage for Captagon towards the Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia.
Jordan frequently announces the seizure of drug quantities coming from Syria. The most recent case occurred on July 18, when the Jordanian Armed Forces thwarted an attempt to smuggle a quantity of Captagon on its border with Syria through an airborne object, later identified as a mortar shell-like projectile.
Also, on June 5, the Jordanian Anti-Narcotics Department foiled an attempt to smuggle 9.5 million Captagon pills and arrested members of “two gangs linked to regional drug smuggling networks.”
The growing drug trade and smuggling from Syria have pushed Arab countries, mainly Jordan and Saudi Arabia, to prioritize this issue in Arab discussions with the Syrian regime in hopes of achieving a political solution in Syria. However, this has manifested oppositely with an increase in smuggling attempts over the past year.
Jordan continues to strive for a resolution to stop the flow of drugs from Syria, but initiatives have yet to yield results.
In November 2023, the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee approved the “Captagon II” bill, supplementing the first Captagon law passed by the US Congress last year to combat the Syrian regime’s drug trafficking activities, sponsored by both the Republican and Democratic parties.
Baghdad also hosted the first international drug control conference on May 9, 2023, attended by Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, and Turkey.