The Secret Supply Chain That Sent EU Trucks to Syria

To support the Syrian government war effort overly dependent against its ally Russia. However, videos published and shared by state organizations in 2018 social media It showed the Syrian army seizing new-look trucks from EU brands such as Mercedes, Scania, Volvo and Iveco.

The Idlib video shows Scania trucks, including the G460 model and possibly the G480 and R440 models, many carrying tanks. Commentary on the video said the trucks were used by Tiger Forces, an elite Russian-backed unit that has played a key role in high-profile attacks. It was shared on a pro-regime Facebook page in 2021, but the date it was taken could not be confirmed.

The Syrian military does not release procurement information, so it is not possible to say how or when these particular trucks entered Syria. Some manufacturers outsource parts of their production processes, meaning these trucks may not have been assembled in the EU.

But some similar vehicles appear to be leaving the EU via an indirect pipeline through neighbouring countries that are not subject to the same level of sanctions. Once in those countries, the trucks can be more easily transported to their final destinations.

An undercover reporter conducted a dozen interviews with truck dealers, hauliers and customs agents in Germany, Italy, Sweden, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, who detailed how trucks could be shipped from the EU to Syria via countries such as Jordan and Lebanon, sometimes by paying bribes and falsifying paperwork along the way.

This circuitous supply chain resembles the Belarusian or Central Asian routes that have funneled goods into Ukraine since Russia was hit with sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, thus supplying the Kremlin’s war machine.

“The trucks may be non-military vehicles, but they carry tanks and artillery,” said Ahmad Hamada, a military analyst and former Syrian army officer. “Such services to the regime mean death for civilians.”

The Syrian Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Traders: Key to the Supply Chain

At the heart of trade are intermediaries such as traders and customs consultants.

Eight of a dozen brokers interviewed by OCCRP said direct shipments to Syria were impossible because of trade restrictions and that shipping manifests should avoid mentioning the country’s name.

When an undercover reporter contacted two EU-based traders to say he wanted to ship Mercedes and Scania trucks from Sweden to a buyer in Damascus, they offered to help bypass trade bans by shipping via Jordan, Lebanon or the United Arab Emirates.

One trader in the southern Swedish town of Vimmerby warned the reporter that Swedish authorities would block the shipment if they found out it was going to Syria. “There are no boats going to Syria, there is an embargo, it is forbidden,” he said. (The Swedish Foreign Ministry told OCCRP that proper implementation of sanctions was “critical” but said Swedish authorities were not blocking shipments to Syria.)

Instead, the trader offered to help ship the trucks through Jordan. Once in the Middle East, he explained, they could be transported to free zones — special economic zones not subject to the usual customs rules — and from there to Syria.