In response to a growing list of casualties in Syria and a significant decrease in funding by Iran, the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah has expanded its involvement in illegal businesses including arms and drug trafficking.

According to a media investigation by conducted the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan (Arabic link), several senior Hezbollah members are suspected of involvement in financial corruption and drug trafficking operations, some of which are carried out from the southern suburbs of Beirut, where the Shiite terrorist organization has large influence and presence.

Hezbollah also holds substantial influence over Lebanon’s Al-Biqa valley, which is known for its “hashish agriculture.” The Shiite organization provides logistical services to drug traffickers operating in the area and often performs the trade itself, according to the Saudi newspaper.

The Tower recently reported that Hezbollah is suffering from “difficult days” in its war in Syria against local opposition groups attempting to overthrow Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Hezbollah, which is reportedly not receiving enough assistance from the Syrian regime forces, is struggling in its attempts to capture the Al-Qalamoun district of the Rif Dimashq governorate in Syria, and has sustained heavy losses in Al-Qalamoun in recent weeks.

The growing financial reliance on the illicit drug and arms trades stems not only from battlefield losses in Syria, where Hezbollah forces fight to help the Assad regime’s survival at the behest of Iran, but also from Iran’s decision to reduce the annual aid it gives to its Shiite proxy by 25%.

This is not the first time that Hezbollah’s illicit trafficking operations have made headlines. In late August, Israel announced that it had dismantled a Hezbollah drug smuggling ring earlier in the summer. The new Saudi report strengthens allegations that the group’s weakening financial position is driving it to engage in criminal activities to support its terror.

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