U.S. Court Sentences Key Figure in Drug Networks Linked to Syria's Ousted Regime

ARK News.. U.S. federal court in the state of Virginia has sentenced Antoine Qassis, one of the most prominent figures involved in drug trafficking networks linked to Syria's ousted regime.

Qassis was convicted of providing material support to a designated terrorist organization and engaging in transnational money laundering. According to court findings, he worked directly with Maher al-Assad and senior military officials in the former regime to facilitate arms and drug trafficking deals.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the federal court in Virginia imposed concurrent sentences of 30 years' imprisonment on Qassis, who holds both Syrian and Lebanese citizenship, for terrorism-related drug trafficking offenses and 20 years' imprisonment for providing material support to the organization known as the National Liberation Army of Colombia (ELN), which is designated as a terrorist organization. The sentences are to be served concurrently.

According to the court, Qassis—who is related to Bashar al-Assad through his mother's side of the family—was involved in arranging a deal valued at approximately $14 million to smuggle 500 kilograms of cocaine supplied by the ELN in exchange for providing parties linked to the group with advanced military-grade weapons from the stockpiles of the former Syrian regime. He also conspired with individuals and criminal networks in Colombia and Mexico to transport narcotics and weapons outside Syria.

The U.S. court further stated that Qassis held meetings with individuals linked to organizations designated as terrorist groups by the United States, traveled to several countries, including Kenya, and signed commercial contracts involving the shipment of containers from Latin America to facilitate the smuggling of prohibited materials.

According to the evidence presented in court, Qassis worked directly with Maher al-Assad and senior military officials in the former regime to complete arms and drug trafficking transactions. He also paid the former regime $10,000 for every kilogram of cocaine imported through the Port of Latakia.

In March, a U.S. federal jury convicted Antoine Qassis, who was linked to the former Syrian regime, on charges of drug trafficking, money laundering, and conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization, in a case that exposed the involvement of former regime officials in an international drug and arms trafficking network.

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