How ‘poor man’s cocaine’ could enter the UK and enrich Syrian dictator’s regime

The UK could become a transport hub for an illegal drug known as “poor man’s cocaine” produced by Syria’s dictatorial regime, with the Government admitting it is alarmed by the narcotic’s spread.

Captagon, a highly-addictive amphetamine-style pill, has become one of the most popular party drugs for young adults in North Africa and the Middle East.

But recently the drug has been detected across mainland Europe with seizures in Italy, Germany and its production has been discovered in the Netherlands. Although no shipments have yet been seized in the UK, law enforcement agencies believe it is only a matter of time before it reaches Britain.

Most of the world’s supply comes from Syria and it is predominantly sold in Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, where it is used as a recreational drug, weight loss aid and energy enhancer.

But increasingly tough border checks within these countries over the past decade have made it harder to import the drug directly from Syria, with smugglers turning to trafficking the drug through Europe, repackaging it on the Continent and then re-exporting it back to the Middle East to avoid detection.

The UK Government said it was “deeply concerned” by the growth of the £4bn international captagon industry and was “closely monitoring” its links with the dictatorship of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The British Government estimates the value of Captagon to be approximately three times the combined trade of the Mexican cartels and the drug is believed to be providing “a financial lifeline for the Assad regime”, enriching the Syrian President’s inner circle as well as militias and warlords.

UK could become transportation hub

Several experts told i that the UK could be exploited by gangs as a “transhipment point” along the smuggling route.

Asked about the arrival of Captagon in the UK, the National Crime Agency said it was monitoring “all drug threats including emerging threats”.

“Anecdotally, we have heard that the European route is very much part of the trafficking process, rather than European states being the destination country of supply,” said Dr Gus Waschefort of the University of Essex Law school.

“This appears to be predominantly aimed at avoiding detection. So we find, for example, that Middle East-manufactured Captagon gets trafficked through Europe and then routed to the Gulf, and that’s why we pick up shipments from time to time in European countries.”

What is Captagon – and where is it used?

Weight loss aid, study drug – and jihadi fuel

Captagon is a “stone that can hit multiple birds”, according to Caroline Rose, an expert on the narcotics industry at the New Lines Institute.

The “productive element” of the amphetamine tablet sees it used by university students studying, while the hunger suppressant effect means it is also used as a weight-loss drug.

Its cheap price – currently around $3.50 (£2.66) per pill in Iraq and a little more in Saudi Arabia according to UN experts – means it is also accessible to low-paid workers.

“We see a lot of taxi drivers and overnight workers use Captagon to stay up for a night shift. Those who are working multiple jobs will use Captagon to get themselves through the day,” Ms Rose said.

“Captagon is also often used recreationally, sometimes in conjunction with other drugs, because there are variants that can produce this kind of euphoric, invincible effect.”

Risk of heart failure

Captagon was withdrawn from the market over safety concerns, including the risks of heart failure, seizures, and psychosis, according to academics.

Amphetamines put strain on the heart, and users have died from taking too much, according to drugs information site Talk To Frank.

The long-term use of amphetamines can affect diet, sleep and immune system, making users more vulnerable to other illnesses.

Most popular in Saudi Arabia

Captagon’s primary destination market is the Gulf, particularly Saudi Arabia. This is partly due to its varied uses, Ms Rose said.

“It’s very difficult to understand exactly why, because there’s not a lot of statistics about consumption and abuse of Captagon inside of the kingdom, but from our research, it’s very clear that because Captagon a ‘one-size-fits-all’ drug, which appeals to (different sections of society),” she said.

“In Saudi Arabia, you have well off individuals that are flocking to it… but then you’ve also got a very large migrant working-class working in construction, hospitality and transportation, and they’re taking the drug because it helps them to get through multiple shifts in a very bleak working environment. You also have very similar conditions in the UAE, in Bahrain, in Kuwait.

“In Iraq, Captagon is the second most popular drug, and in Syria it’s already replaced plant based drugs such as heroin, which is quite notable. There, you have a war ravaged economy, and people are just getting through day.”

Another reason for Captagon’s success in the Middle East is the religious ambiguity around it, according to Thomas Pietschmann of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

“One of the reasons we believe it may have taken off is because unlike alcohol, it obviously isn’t specifically prohibited in the Quran,” he said.

Linked to ‘atrocities’

Captagon has also been used in war zones. It was reportedly used by Hamas fighters in the 7 October massacre in Israel and has been recorded during the civil war in Syria.

This is because the drugs makes the user “feel like superman”, according to Mr Pietschmann.

“Empathy disappears, so its been linked to atrocities. It makes soldiers into robots.”

Ms Rose said that having a European stamp of approval on a product “can mean it’s less likely to be viewed with suspicion”.

“If traffickers are able to get captagon shipments through customs in the EU and sent back to the Gulf, it was much less likely to be inspected,” she said.

Elijah Glantz, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Intitute (RUSI), said that the UK could become part of a European smuggling route, but he believed it was unlikely that Captagon would take off as a drug of choice for Britons.

“Captagon is a poor, unknown, cheap version of what we already have in the UK, so it’s not likely to be very competitive. But it’s possible it could be seized in or out of a port as part of a transhipment. That’s long been the MO; directing Captagon through an area with lower supply and demand to avoid red flags and risk registers,” he said.

Assad’s murky ties to captagon

Captagon was originally sold as an anti-narcolepsy medication in Germany in the early 60s, until it was banned in the 80s.

Today, Captagon is sold on the black market. Around 80 per cent of the world’s supply comes from Syria, where production is facilitated by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. 

The UK Government has described Captagon as a “financial lifeline” for the Assad regime. The industry has been valued at up to $57bn and worth approximately three times the combined trade of the Mexican cartels.

The president’s brother Maher al-Assad, commands a unit of the Syrian Army which facilitates the distribution and production of the drug, according to the UK Government.

Dr Waschefort said the Assad regime in Syria was “responsible for by far the largest supply and manufacture of Captagon” and was using it as a “political ploy” to boost its regional power.

“The regime is using its traffic and supply capital as a leverage against neighboring states to normalise relations with them,” he said. 

“Effectively, they’re blackmailing the states around them by saying that we can turn off the tap of capital and supply to your jurisdictions, because we’re in control of it, if you increasingly normalise your relationship with us. That’s been quite effective for them in the regional context.”

“In the same way as drug networks might switch from smuggling substances in bananas to mangoes to avoid detection, they could switch to smuggling through, or between different, European ports. We should probably expect that kind of flexibility.”

Mr Glantz raised concerns that while the UK “places a lot of emphasis on what comes into its territory, it has very, very little insight into what goes out.”

“The UK does have – though probably no more than the rest of Europe – a little vulnerability to becoming a new transhipment point,” he said.

“The Gulf states are going to have a difficult time putting red alerts on all shipments that arrives and fits some sort of transhipment criteria, because that would slow trade massively, so its certainly something that’s possible. If the Captagon trade becomes more difficult over land and direct sea, we should absolutely expect to see a lot of West African, East African and European transhipment.”

Mr Glantz suggested the UK was lower risk as a smuggling destination than locations such as Rotterdam, which is cheaper to get to from the Gulf and “has a huge criminal problem in the ports” providing “existing criminal links and the ability to falsify documents.”

“But it’s perfectly possible,” he added. “All European countries if they want to be involved in tackling captagon should have their guard up high against being used as a transhipment point.”

Captagon production small in Europe – but could scale up

There is little appetite for Captagon consumption in the UK and other European countries, according to the European Drug Agency, and the production industry is believed to be very small.

However, it could be scaled up if Syrian production drops or as other captagon producers enter the market experts said.

“There is a little bit of consumption in The Netherlands, where the only major factory producing Captagon was found, and local demand to a degree, but the market for Captagon at-large is weak across Europe,” said Mr Glantz.

“Any local demand could also be serving predominantly diaspora communities who are already familiar with the drug, and we don’t know if this production is at all linked to Assad and the Syrian regime, or other conflict actors.”

Mr Pietschmann said that most European production was believed to be carried out by Syrian drug cartels, rather than European ones.

But he noted some early suggestions that the Syrian regime could be reducing its output which could mean dealers turn to other networks – including those in Europe – to fill the production gap.

“Up until 2020/2021, the Captagon trade was only going up. But we may now be seeing a stabilisation, or possibly, even decline, with the number of seizures in recent years reducing,” he said.

“It’s possible that this is linked to Syria rejoining the Arab League in 2023, for which one of the conditions was that the regime takes Captagon more seriously. But it’s hard to say: we haven’t had data from Saudi Arabia since 2021, and this is of course the biggest market, so it’s an incomplete picture.

“If Syria is decreasing production, but there’s still a market in Saudi Arabia, they may look for new sources. It’s possible we see more production in the EU or UK, there’s no reason why not.”

Mr Pietschmann said that despite being well established in the Middle East for 20 to 30 years, Captagon has never established a firm market in Europe.

“If Captagon did get found in the UK, its likely to be production rather than consumption. There has never really been a market for Captagon in Europe. In part that’s because in Europe, there’s a strong market for amphetamines, and no real reason why they’d switch from amphetamines to Captagon, which is mixed with something else and thus weaker.

“Generally in the UK, demand for amphetamines has been going down and demand for cocaine has been rising. I’m not excluding the possibility that some people take it; they may find the side effects are not as bad, but the UK market is not something which is obvious to us.”

There is already evidence that more traditional narcotic networks were taking a growing interest in Captagon, which could trigger greater activity outside of the Middle East, according to Dr Waschefort said.

“If it was always the Syrian regime that was in control of the flow of Captagon probably there wouldn’t be that big an incentive to go far the field as Europe, because they’ve got this political motive with which they’re doing, though obviously there’s a profit angle as well,” he said.

“But it’s clear that there is sort of a diversification in the manufacture and supply of Captagon and for many of the newcomers, though they’re still responsible for a smaller percentage of the manufacturing supply, their motives are much more traditional profit motives, so that becomes slightly less predictable as far as the EU and the UK specifically.”

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UK ‘sharpening’ response to Captagon

The UK Government has become increasingly alarmed by the spread of Captagon, and is “sharpening global awareness” of its risks, sources said.

In March, the UK co-hosted an event with Jordan bring together national governments and expert researchers to discuss the impact of the Captagon trade on the region, and a year prior imposed US-coordinated sanctions on 11 individuals involved in the Captagon industry in Syria.

A government spokesperson said: “Illegal drugs devastate lives, and we are deeply concerned by the growth of the international Captagon industry. The UK is closely monitoring the Assad regime’s links to the Captagon trade. The regime bears responsibility for, and is profiting from, the production and trading of this narcotic.”