Media investigations have accused the family of Bashar al – Assad, the head of Syrian regime, of supporting drug trade and exporting drugs abroad. The trafficking and smuggling networks in Syria have benefited greatly from Assad’s support, media reports point out.
In addition, the website of Organized Crime and Corruption OCCRP, revealed a series of evidence showing the recovery of drug trade in the war-torn country. The evidence includes the shipment of drugs seized by the Greek authorities in 2018, which it said was worth about US $100 million.
In the same context, the website indicates that there are links between Assad family members and drug trafficking gangs in Libya. It noted that the increasing rate of drug shipments seized in Libyan, Italian, Romanian and Greek ports, came from Syria.
In an investigation of drug trafficking, the website concluded that all investigations carried out by the EU authorities confirmed that the seized drug shipments had moved from high-security Syrian ports dominated by forces of the Fourth Division of the Syrian regime. The Fourth Division is one of the most powerful military divisions that is close to Assad and his family, especially since it is under the command of his brother Maher Assad.
Many of the tracks in the documents lead to Syrian Latakia, which is under strict government control, dominated by the notorious Fourth Division of the Syrian Regime Army, the website says.
The website confirms that the owner of the Nuka ship, which was seized after takeoff from the port of Latakia towards the Libyan coast, is a Syrian Sheikh called Tahir al-Kayali who is connected with Modar al-Assad, a cousin of Bashar al-Assad, whose company controls a marina and tourist complex in Latakia, where Kayali owns a cafeteria.
