The Middle East's Drug Trade is Worse Than You Think

If I asked you to think about the global drug trade, your minds would probably go to South America. And you would most likely picture flamboyant drug lords like El Chapo, who managed to escape from Mexican maximum-security prisons, twice.

Maybe also Pablo Escobar and his cocaine hippos that have wreaked havoc on Columbia, or maybe Carlos Leda, who in a move whose sheer audacity will never be matched, bought an island in the Bahamas.

Given enough time, you might move on to Europe, where the drug lords are a lot less flashy, but every bit as capable as their South American compatriots, or you might think of Africa, which was described as the next frontline in the global drug trade by the outlet Geopolitical Monitor. Odds are, though, that you won't think of the Middle East.