In April 2021, Hassan Daqqou – also known in Lebanon as the “King of Captagon,” had a nervous breakdown as he was being interrogated by the Information Branch of the Internal Security Forces (ISF).

“You’ve destroyed me!” he cried, slapping his face. One of the policemen had to intervene to try to calm him down. At the time nobody understood who Daqqou was talking about when he said: “You’ve destroyed me.” 

Was he referring to the Information Branch agents, his partners in the drug trade, the Syrian 4th Division for whom he was an informant, or Hezbollah, for whom he was spying on the people in his region?

Recently, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) obtained the 651 page, handrwitten leaked transcripts of Hassan Daqqou’s interrogation, which was subsequently shared with Daraj.

Daqqou’s confessions reveal a complex network of links with the Syrian regime, Hezbollah, and the drug trade. They also encompass Daqqou’s life story, which deserves to be told. After all,  the 36-year-old Syrian-Lebanese, once drowning in the depths of poverty as a watch seller, emerged to become the king of the Captagon trade in Lebanon.

Nuts and drugs

In the transcripts, Daqqou characterizes himself as having four different faces to him. First and foremost, he is a businessman. Second, he works for the Security Bureau of the Syrian Army’s 4th Division, which is led by Ghassan Bilal, the right-hand man of the Syrian president’s brother Maher Al-Assad. Third, Daqqou worked with Hezbollah throughout the Syrian conflict, and fourth, he took part in the war on narcotics both from and to Syria.

As a child, young Hassan worked in agriculture in his hometown of Tfail, north of Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, facing the Syrian village of Assal al-Ward. He also helped his father who worked in trading construction materials. 

When he was 15 years old, his father sent him to Beirut where he worked in the Cola area, exchanging currency, selling watches, and transporting people. 

The story Daqqou told about his teenage years is quite different from the locally known tale, in which he is known as the son of a druglord. His version of the story, which he told to the investigators, recounts the journey of a businessman who started from scratch.

When he turned 18, Daqqou moved to Damascus to continue his studies, which he abandoned after failing the baccalaureate exams. He went on to assist his father in selling nuts to pastry shops for seven years. 

In the fuel trade

When his father’s business declined, he ventured into the Syrian fuel trade, importing it from Iraq. 

After his father passed away in 2010, Daqqou pursued several other business ventures, such as real estate and car sales, as well as buying and distributing fuel. At one point, he owned 40 trucks to transport fuel, which he did on behalf of the well-known Syrian company Al-Qatirji. 

From the onset of the Syrian crisis, Al-Qatirji emerged as a major player, transporting oil and oil derivatives to Iraq and Iran, and from the Autonomous Administration-controlled regions in Syria to the regime-controlled ones.

In 2022, Al-Qatirji and its founders were placed on the terrorist watch list by the Saudi Presidency of State Security for having connections to Islamic State.

Expanding to Jordan

Daqqou’s business later expanded to Jordan. In 2010, he acquired the Al-Azzaoui factory on the Airport Road in Amman, which was specialized in producing insecticides, agricultural products, andd cleaning materials. He exported this material to Iraq, a prominent market for Jordanian products at the time. The factory operated until 2015.

In 2013, as the war intensified in Syria, Daqqou returned to Lebanon, although he kept traveling back and forth,settling in Lebanon permanently in 2017.

Hassan Daqqou is the eldest brother of Hussein, Hassan, and Ghazwan, all of whom are accused of drug trafficking and manufacturing. Daqqou owns land and properties in his hometown Tfail in addition to apartments in the Ramlet al-Baida area of Beirut, a villa in Mechref, and a company named Caesar in the Centro Mall, which is registered under his second wife’s name, Lebanese lawyer Samar Mohsen. He also has a villa in Damour, where his first wife, Ithra Raya, resides. 

Daqqou occasionally visits Tfail with a convoy of SUVs, and some of the town’s residents do not have good memories of him: they claim that two years ago, they were put under immense pressure to sell their lands. At the time, Daqqou’s men presented them with a choice: evacuate their homes which would be handed over to Syrian security forces, or stay and pay bribes.

Syria’s 4th Division

On April 6, 2021, the Lebanese authorities arrested Hassan Daqqou, alongside two drug dealers, Mamdouh Ahmed Al-Hajah and Khaled Nizar Al-Hajah. Daqqou had an expired work permit issued by the Syrian 4th Division Security Bureau, as well as a work permit set to expire on May 1, 2021.

In his confession, Daqqou revealed some details about his involvement with the 4th Division. According to him, they control the Port of Latakia, where numerous contraband shipments go in and out. He also claimed that he directly reports to the 4th Division’s Security Bureau and has worked to gather information on customs duty evaders in return for part of the fees collected.

According to Daqqou, the 4th Division is involved in the trade of various sectors, including construction material, tobacco, (scrap) iron, food items, and fuel, and it owes him around US$ 900,000 for various services he provided.

Daqqou’s association with the 4th Division began in 2014, providing custom escorting services. He works directly under the 4th Division’s second in command Ghassan Bilal, who is featured on the European, British and Canadian sanctions lists, due to crimes and human rights violations against the Syrian people.

Customs escorting is a profitable service created by the Syrian regime to protect convoys of cars and trucks from being looted in exchange for fees, which were directed to the Syrian treasury and the so-called Martyrs Fund. 

However, the truth is that the Syrian army, particularly the 4th Division, has been involved in extorting payments from vehicles passing their checkpoints, even in safe areas. This practice continues to this day. Many Syrians have negative memories of their cars and pockets being emptied by soldiers.

One of Daqqou’s primary smuggling sources is a person referred to as “Abu Ali Muallim Jadid,” based on the conversations found on his phone. He owns an import-export company inside the Port of Latakia and speaks with a coastal accent, according to Daqqou, who did not disclose the former’s full name. 

It appears that the man wields significant influence and has connections with high-ranking officers in the 4th Division, which enables him to access some 90 percent of the port’s paperwork.

Fear Factor

Daqqou denied knowing all the people behind the phone numbers he had been in contact with in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey. 

When confronted by the Lebanese policemen with the fact that these were his phones, he blamed his relatives who lived in or visited his house, claiming they used his phones to discuss sensitive issues, while he had no knowledge of such matters.

According to Daqqou, he established a network of individuals who helped him obtain information about suspicious operations. They included a Syrian man named Ahmed Al Saleh, who deals in sex trafficking, a second person who provides prostitutes for private parties, a third man named Abu Faour residing in Turkey, and a certain Abu Dani. All of them are involved in smuggling, but only indirectly. 

Daqqou had no problem mentioning the names of those who assisted him, but he refused to disclose any of the names of the main smugglers and merchants, citing fears for his life and the safety of his children.

“Yes, I fear for my life and that of my children, because these merchants are criminals, and they may harm me and my family,” he told investigators. “When I reported on their affairs, I did it secretly. I don’t dare to report them publicly.”

The Road to Syria Goes Through Hezbollah

Daqqou provided services to people who were either detained by Syrian security branches or prosecuted by the 4th Division’s security forces. He charged fees ranging from US$ 50,000 to $300,000. 

“He was wanted for possessing arms,” Daqqou stated about one individual wanted by the Syrian authorities with whom he eventually collaborated. “I intervened with the 4th Division’s security office and resolved the pending case.” 

Those familiar with the Syrian security apparatus know how difficult it is to get someone out of jail, cancel a search warrant, or even try to find some news about someone incarcerated. Being able to do so requires good relations with influential figures.

It is not the first time Daqqou has been investigated. An arrest warrant was issued against him in 2020 on charges of forming a gang, in addition to a verdict for drug-related offenses issued that same year by the Mount Lebanon Criminal Court, imposing a fine of 100 million Lebanese pounds.  An arrest warrant for drug-related charges was issued by the public prosecutor in Mount Lebanon in 2017.

Daqqou’s  vasy network of relations extends to Hezbollah, which he was quite reluctant to discuss. Daqqou confessed that most of his trips to Syria were part of Hezbollah military convoys from the Masnaa or Tfail border crossings. Tfail was used because one can enter and exit Syria without getting a passport entry stamp. 

Daqqou worked as an intelligence operative for Hezbollah for several years. His tasks during the Syrian war included coordinating with Hezbollah members in the border regions of Assal al-Ward, Tfail, and Zabadani. He provided them with information on the terrain and militants, and also recruited some locals. According to Daqqou, as the security situation stabilized in Syria, his connections with Hezbollah weakened, and he continued to enter Syria like any ordinary person.

Proof Incriminating Daqqou on his own phone

Daqqou used several phone numbers for specific periods of time, continuously switching between them. The common factor linking these numbers and phones, as analyzed by the Lebanese authorities, are the prominent figures involved in drug manufacturing and trafficking. 

They include several wanted men like Ahmed al-Dirani, Jalal al-Sharif, and Imad Nofal al-Miqdad, as well as Syrian nationals Amer al-Sheikh and Ibrahim Aliko, who had a major dispute with Daqqou over the distribution of assets and funds after their partnership was dissolved. 

According to the investigative report, Daqqou has diligently attempted to seize cargos of Captagon pills belonging to Sheikh and Aliko by coordinating with security agencies. This draws attention to one aspect of the truth: Daqqou’s desire to assert his power over the drug trafficking gangs.

Daqqou’s phone contains dozens of drug-related terms, such as mikbas (press), sabbabat (containers), and sikka (smuggling routes). He used the term al-3asal (honey) for the mixture used to produce Captagon paste. 

“He had to put 4.5 per 1,000,” he wrote in a message exchange. “But no, he only put 1.5. Tell me what they say about honey. If it is not correct, they have to sift and remove it.” 

In addition to these messages, his phone contained shipment bills, including one from the Czech Republic to Hong Kong, from where he imported the industrial tires that resemble the ones seized in Malaysia in 2021. 

In addition, there were messages with Abu Ali Muallim Jadid, in which they discussed monitoring the shipments.

In his testimony, his Syrian driver said that Daqqou frequently requested “suspicious” tasks from him. He would be instructed to switch off his phone before sending him to an OMT outlet to receive or send money. 

On another occasion, he instructed him to switch off his phone, as he requested him to transfer money from his home to the company in a black plastic bag. He was instructed to switch off his phone even when asleep in his bed. 

A Suspicious Factory in Jordan

After the war in Syria ended, Daqqou’s business ventures underwent significant changes. He previously owned the Al-Hassan company for buying and selling cars on the Nabek-Yabrud road in Syria. He was also involved in the real estate and tobacco trade in Syria. Additionally, he owned a fleet of tanks to transport oil derivatives from the Homs and Banias refineries and distribute them to the Syrian army. However, as the battles raged in the country, he gradually started to sell his company and fleet of trucks.

Daqqou had trouble getting into Jordan following the events in Syria. He said that once the factory was taken over, and its contents were stolen, he was unable to conduct his business, as Jordanian officials repeatedly summoned him for questioning regarding his links with the Syrian regime.

However, Daqqou did not disclose the whole truth: the Jordanian Court of Cassation upheld a 20-year jail term for drug-related charges, which is why he no longer goes to Jordan. 

The documents obtained by OCCRP and Daraj show that the real owner of the Al-Azzawi firm was Jordanian national Mutassim Al Tayyan, while Daqqou was the fictitious owner and authorized signatory.

The factory imported a substance called P2P (phenylacetone), a chemical utilized for the production of narcotic amphetamine oil, from China. It is seldom used in the production of disinfectants. According to the Jordanian lawsuit, 89 percent of the world’s phenylacetone was imported by Al-Azzawi’s plant.

Daqqou’s case in Jordan raises many questions, especially because of the chemicals involved. Yet, Daqqou claims he doesn’t know what substances are used in manufacturing cleaning products or pesticides. 

Daqqou claimed throughout the investigation that he is not proficient in the English language, despite the presence of several bills and transactions in English on his phone, which would require a good understanding of the language.

“I am completely ignorant of the English language: I do not read or write English,” he said during the investigation. “Therefore, I do not memorize the names of any of these substances, not even the names of the medications I take daily.” 

In response to the BBC regarding a recent investigation called “The Captagon Republic: How a Vast Drug Smuggling Network is Linked to the Presidential Palace in Syria,” Hassan Daqqou’s lawyer, Ali Al-Moussawi, said that what is happening to Daqqou is a fabricated media and political campaign. 

In an apparent effort to try and absolve the 4th Division from the case, Al-Musawi also defended Colonel Ghassan Bilal.  

At the end of the investigation, when the investigators came to the drug shipments confiscated in Malaysia in March 2021, Daqqou did not want to cooperate with the investigation any further and decided to boycott it on the pretext that his wife had been humiliated. 

However, his wife, Samar Mohsen, intervened and said that they had not been subjected to humiliation, but rather to moral pressure. As a result, the investigations were able to  proceed. 

Daqqou’s phone contained bills of conversations and letters that revealed him being involved in the Malaysia shipments, but Daqqou continued to boycott the investigation and repeat the same answer: “No comment. No comment.” 

The Lebanese authorities sentenced Daqqou to 7 years of temporary hard labor on drug charges.