LONDON: Syrian authorities arrested a prominent drug dealer on Thursday in the coastal province of Lattakia.
Nomair Al-Assad is regarded as one of the country’s most prominent drug dealers and has been involved in several crimes during the era of the Bashar Assad regime, according to the Ministry of Interior.
Internal Security Forces captured Al-Assad alongside several members of a criminal gang in the city of Qardaha, famously known as the hometown of the Assad family.
Brig. Gen. Abdulaziz Al-Ahmad of the ISF told SANA that Al-Assad used his kinship with the Assad regime to “form and manage organized terrorist networks, which were involved in murders, kidnapping, extortion and armed robbery against civilians in a number of governorates.”
Al-Ahmad added that Al-Assad oversaw drug production and smuggling to neighboring countries and participated in an armed attack on Syria’s forces early this year.
The ministry emphasized that the arrest reflects the ISF’s commitment to pursuing remnants of the Assad regime, combating crime, and achieving justice.
Since the fall of the regime last December, the new government in Damascus has arrested several suspects, including army officers, for crimes committed against Syrians during the country’s civil conflict.
Additionally, Syrian authorities continue to fight against drug trafficking, cooperating with neighboring countries such as Jordan, Turkiye, and Iraq to dismantle criminal networks.
