Sky High: The Ensuing Narcotics Crisis in Mena and the Role of the Assad Regime

This report presents the most comprehensive attempt to date at understanding the breadth and nature of the ongoing narcotics crisis in the Middle East, by analyzing two bespoke databases: one compiling and classifying the 1,251 publicly reported drug seizures in Arab Asian countries between 2016 and 2022, and another mapping 712 individuals and entities involved in narcotics supply from Syria and Lebanon using primary and secondary sources. The report also estimates the profits generated by the industry and their political economy implications.