Why the Middle East is closer to breaking the drugs trade

Those involved in international drugs trafficking continue to find routes to ensure their illicit trade continues. The National recently reported how the fall of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria – once the world’s leading producer and exporter of the lucrative Captagon stimulant – helped exacerbate the already surging narcotics trade thousands of kilometres away in Yemen. There, Syrian and Iranian producers continue to exploit the country’s war and economic collapse.

Security sources in Yemen spoke of smugglers making their way along the volatile country’s porous 1,300km border with Saudi Arabia, transporting drugs with donkeys and drones.

The reason for such determined criminality is not complicated – illegal drugs are often very profitable. One Yemeni source claimed he had frequently interrogated traffickers who had “no affiliation, no agenda”. Their motivation was simple: “They just want to get paid.”

In many ways, The National’s report highlighted the myriad challenges facing governments and law enforcement across the Middle East when it comes to the drugs trade. Long borders, fragmented responses and unresolved armed conflicts all work to the advantage of trafficking networks. That several key Middle East countries, including Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, suffer from ailing economies increases the deadly allure of this dangerous and damaging trade.

Syria seizes 12 million Captagon pills in major drug bust 01:15

However, despite the entrenched nature of the drugs trade, it is possible that the Middle East is closer now to disrupting these criminal networks than at any time in recent years. This week, Iraq’s Interior Ministry hosted the third Baghdad International Conference to Fight Drugs. There, interior ministers and heads of anti-drugs services from several countries – including Syria, Lebanon and Jordan – worked on joint strategies, intelligence sharing and practical co-operation.

It is compelling, and somewhat surprising, to see a common agenda being set by regional neighbours, some of whom have had a distrustful, complex relationship in the past.