Syria is the world's largest 'narco-state'

Tags: International News

Syria has become the world's largest 'narco-state' and most of its foreign exchange earnings come from the production and export of Captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine commonly referred to as "poor man's coke".

An Overview of the News

• Drug trafficking, is especially Captagon, which is a significant part of Syria's economy.It  accounts for more than 90 percent of the country's foreign exchange earnings according to  criteria to be classified as a narco-state.

• Experts have indicated that Syria is the major producer of Captagon, with much of it exported to the Gulf region. Following a crackdown on protesters by President Bashar al-Assad in 2011 and subsequent sanctions or trade embargoes with Syria, the Lebanese regime along with Hezbollah increased the production and export of Captagon to the Gulf countries.

• The US enacted the Captagon Act last year, linking the drug trade to the Assad regime in Syria and labelling it an "international security threat".

About Syria

Capital - Damascus

Official language - Arabic

President - Bashar al-Assad

Vice President -Najah Al-Attar

Prime Minister -Hussain Arnoos

Speaker of the People's Assembly - Hammouda Sabbagh