A recently released report indicates that Syria's No. 1 export industry is the Captagon, a stimulant drug known as "the cocaine of the poor."
In recent weeks, large loads of this drug that were previously used by ISIS members have been seized in Europe and the Middle East, but it is clear that the seizures are only a small part of the shipments that left Syria and reached their destination.
According to estimates, the value of the Captagon exporting from Syria last year reached about $3.5 billion, five times the country's total "legitimate" exports. Exports to Europe are made mainly from the port of Ladakia and all under the watchful eye of the Assad regime, which receives profits of millions from this industry. Suffice it to say that the powerful man who controls this Syrian port is Samar Assad, a relative of President Bashar Assad. According to sources in Syria, Summer himself set up a network to produce this drug in cooperation with Hezbollah members.