Hussam Muhammed, Baladi News, Damascus
The Syrian Ministry of Interior announced on Monday arresting a drug trafficking network consisted of 6 people in Damascus, noting that the arrested cell had 14 kilograms of Marijuana and 300 thousand pills of Captagon.
However, pro-regime sources confirmed the release of the drug trafficking gang after six hours, pointing out that the regime's counter-narcotics branch set the gang free and kept only one out of the six in prison.
Hayidar Ibrahim, one of the regime's loyalist commented on the news saying: "The regime's counter-narcotics branch arrested yesterday 6 drug traffickers on the outskirts of the city of Jaramana, but after four hours only, the investigating officer requested to see the entire file of the gang".
"We were surprised later that the gang has been arrested carrying very large quantities of drugs and marijuana was released after only five hours and a half, except for a member who was stopped on pending investigation for 15 days", Ibrahim added.
In the same context, Mohammed Al-Midani, the media activist said that Damascus, especially the neighborhoods under the control of Hezbollah or the Afghani and Iraqi militias are considered public markets for selling marijuana and narcotic pills under the patronage of the Syrian regime who facilitates the entry of these drugs into the country.
It has been observed that many influential people along with the regime's thugs are taking drugs and doing robberies without being deterred due to the outbreak of chaos and war which also led to the spread of drug trafficking amidst a flagrant state of corruption among the regime's combating and control apparatuses which are considered the first protector of such trafficking.
Damascus has obviously become a destination for Hezbollah's members and leaders and a number of Iraqi movements as well as Pakistani and Afghani militias sent by Iran to fight alongside the regime in Damascus. Such nationalities in addition to the Iranian one are the most common nationalities in Damascus and a large number of these militias are drug addicts which explains the high prevalence of these narcotics in Damascus.