Illegal drugs proliferate in Syria's Deir Ezzor

Tribal leaders are taking steps to curtail the sale and use of illegal drugs in eastern Syria's Deir Ezzor province, which is awash with narcotics of different types that are brought in by various militias, local activists said.

The proliferation of illegal drugs is a serious concern in parts of Deir Ezzor under the control of the Syrian regime and allied militias affiliated with Iran and Russia, media activist Ammar Saleh told Al-Mashareq.

Militias controlled by or loyal to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are primarily to blame for the current situation, he said, as they run networks that distribute and sell drugs.

Iran-affiliated militias active in the area include Lebanese Hizbullah, the 4th Division and Iraqi militias Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Harakat al-Abdal, Saleh said, along with the pro-regime National Defence Forces militia.

The leaders of these militias benefit the most from the distribution and sale of drugs, he added.

Tribal leaders in Deir Ezzor province have been pressuring youth to stop selling and using drugs, Deir Ezzor media activist Jamil al-Abed told Al-Mashareq.

They have made it known that those who engage in the drug trade or use drugs themselves will be considered outcasts, he said, noting that leaflets bearing this message have been distributed in the province.

The spread of drugs in the area has had many negative consequences, he said, including an increase in the number of youth addicts and a significant rise in the crime rate.

Armed clashes between drug dealers over distribution areas and fighting among the various militias over control of areas of distribution and sale have contributed to the volatility of the region, al-Abed said.

Iranian militias to blame

IRGC-affiliated militias are primarily responsible for the proliferation of drugs in Deir Ezzor, bringing them in from Lebanon, Iraq and elsewhere in Syria, and distributing them in the area through multiple networks, said media activist Ayham al-Ali.

Militiamen supply children who work on the streets with narcotic pills to sell or to deliver to drug users at their homes, he told Al-Mashareq.

Militiamen also distribute drugs among dealers on the streets and in front of and inside schools and universities, he said, with Captagon and crystal meth among the drugs that are easily accessible in the area.

Drug dealers in Deir Ezzor also are trying to penetrate the areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are making efforts to prevent the spread of drugs there, al-Ali said.

"SDF members take measures to carry out extensive awareness and security campaigns, and to arrest drug dealers and sellers," he said.

IRGC-backed militias in the province take advantage of the daily movement of civilians between the banks of the Euphrates river to recruit drug dealers and sellers, some of whom are women, he said.

Several women have been arrested while smuggling narcotic pills into the areas controlled by the Kurdish administration, he added.