On Monday, the European Union imposed penalties on
individuals and organizations connected to what it called the Syrian
government's "large-scale drug trafficking operations," which also
included one Russian corporation.
A request for comment on the allegations or the penalties
against officials and military personnel went unanswered from the Syrian
government.
Wasim and Samer al-Assad, two of President Bashar
al-Assad's relatives, two Lebanese citizens, and almost a dozen other
individuals were named by the EU for their alleged involvement in the trade of
the amphetamine captagon. The president has previously been subject to
sanctions.
The EU claimed that while "enriching itself" and
destabilizing the area, the Syrian government had emerged as a "central
player" in the production and distribution of the narcotic as far away as
Europe.
In response to the charges surrounding the captagon trade,
the United States imposed penalties last month on the brothers Samer and Wasim
al-Asad, as well as the identical Lebanese citizens Noah Zaitar and Hassan
Daqqou.
The Assad administration has stated that it aims to put an
end to the drug trade while denying any role in drug production and smuggling.
The cousin of the president, Mudar al-Assad, was also named by the EU, albeit
no explanation was provided.
Due to ongoing human rights breaches, the bloc imposed
sanctions on people, private security firms, and the notorious Fourth Division,
led by the president's brother Maher al-Assad.
It said that militias supported by the government were
"trying to evade the sanctions by changing their name and seeking to
attract international contracts by posing as private security firms."
Stroytransgaz, a Russian engineering and construction firm
operating in Syria, was also subject to sanctions by the EU as a result of its
support for and financial gain from the Syrian government. In 2014, the US
imposed sanctions on Stroytransgaz due to the company's alleged ties to the
Russian government.
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