In recent days, the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in the southern Syrian governorate of Suweida has begun setting up specialized laboratories to manufacture Captagon narcotic pills, according to local media sources.
According to Suwayda-24, a group of Hezbollah militiamen from the Lebanese region of Baalbek visited the headquarters of a local armed faction backed by the Military Intelligence Division in Suweida, to oversee the preparation of a factory to produce captagon pills in a town in northern Suweida.
The visit came a few days after the transfer of Captagon pressing machines from Homs’ countryside to Suweida governorate, the sources said.
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They noted that Hezbollah aimed at overseeing the preparation of the plant and starting production, in exchange for a sum of between $75,000 and $100,000.
The source pointed out that there is a close link between drug trafficking networks operating south of the governorate with officers and officials of the military intelligence service, especially the assistant in charge of the city of Salkhad, which has close ties with drug traffickers.
Hezbollah militia is taking advantage of the governorate’s location, poverty, and weak security grip by local fighting factions in Suweida to build an alternative smuggling route to the U.S. forces, which are periodically patrolled by revolutionary commandos.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
