{"id":19720,"date":"2025-07-02T15:15:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T15:15:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/?p=19720"},"modified":"2025-07-02T15:25:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T15:25:39","slug":"syrian-intelligence-black-gold-ambush-snags-captagon-kingpin-waseem-al-assad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/07\/02\/syrian-intelligence-black-gold-ambush-snags-captagon-kingpin-waseem-al-assad\/","title":{"rendered":"Syrian Intelligence \u201cBlack Gold Ambush\u201d Snags Captagon Kingpin Waseem al-Assad"},"content":{"rendered":"

Watan<\/strong><\/em>-An Arabic magazine has revealed the intricate intelligence operation carried out by Syrian security services that resulted in the arrest of Waseem Badi\u02bf al-Assad\u2014cousin of deposed President Bashar al-Assad and a leading financier of smuggling and drug networks under the previous regime.<\/p>\n

According to the report, Waseem al-Assad\u2014internationally designated as a major Captagon kingpin\u2014was lured from his hideout in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, into Syria through a carefully crafted plan dubbed \u201cBlack Gold Ambush.\u201d<\/p>\n

The operation began in February, when Syrian intelligence confirmed al-Assad\u2019s presence in Lebanon, sheltered by a network of former-regime loyalists, including smugglers linked to Hezbollah. Despite living abroad, al-Assad was eager to return to Syria to recover cash and gold bars he had buried on an abandoned farm in Wadi al-Arida on the Syrian-Lebanese border during his escape in late 2024.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBlack Gold\u201d Sting Unmasks Assad Kin\u2019s Downfall<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Syrian Interior Ministry and intelligence officers devised a precise plan to exploit his treasure hunt. They recruited a Syrian officer to pose as a corrupt double agent, offering to forge travel documents and ensure his safety in exchange for a cut of the buried funds.<\/p>\n