BEIRUT -- A shadowy confederation of smugglers calling itself Asyad al-Hudoud (Masters of the Borders) has been engaging in illicit trade and transporting wanted criminals between Lebanon and Syria via Lebanon's northern border.

The group, comprised of Hizbullah-backed clans in the vicinity of Wadi Khaled, reportedly has been working for some time in concert with the Syrian regime's 4th Division, led by the Syrian president's brother, Maher al-Assad.

The group's grandiose name has emerged only recently, however.

Lebanon's rugged and undemarcated northern frontier has long been exploited by smugglers who traffic in fuel, food, medicine, weapons and illegal drugs, including Captagon, which is now the Syrian regime's largest export.

Smugglers also transport Lebanese and Syrian fugitives who are wanted on various charges across the border in both directions, by way of informal crossings in remote areas that they control.

"Wadi Khaled is the new hub, the place is full of traffickers," a judicial source told AFP in November, noting that much of the population on the Lebanese side of the remote border region identifies as Syrian.

Smuggling activity on the Lebanese side is directed by Asyad al-Hudoud, which co-ordinates its operations with the Syrian Army's 4th Division on the other side of the frontier, local activists told Al-Mashareq.

Many of the crossings they use do not appear on the map, and are known informally by the names of clans that live in the area or operate them: Obeidan, al-Maqtoua, al-Uweishat, al-Maarajiyeh, Bab al-Kanisah, Wadi al-Wawiyyat.

Others are known by the name of the nearest village: Issa, Qarha, al-Hishah.

The heaviest smuggling traffic passes through the Obeidan and Wadi al-Wawiyat crossings under the supervision of Asyad al-Hudoud, in co-ordination with the 4th Division inside Syria, Al-Arabiya reported in February.

The 4th Division and Asyad al-Hudoud work hand in hand to smuggle individuals who are wanted by the law from Syria into Lebanon and vice versa in personal vehicles in exchange for money, the media outlet said.

The price of smuggling individuals across the border starts at $150 per person and generates huge profits, estimated at over $15,000 a day, the report said.

It noted that the 4th Division's profits from smuggling have doubled in recent years as it has taken advantage of the economic crisis roiling Lebanon.

Operatives along northern border

Asyad al-Hudoud has operatives in Wadi Khaled and along the entire northern Lebanese border, according to Mohammed, an activist who spoke to Al-Mashareq on condition that his full name not be used.

The group operates under the command of Hizbullah and the Syrian Baath party of Bashar al-Assad, he said, and its members are wanted for various crimes.

The scope of its activity encompasses Wadi Khaled, the al-Nahr al-Kabir River crossings and other illegal crossings in the area, he said, including one in the vicinity of the border village of al-Qamoua.

Hizbullah controls the approaches to al-Qamoua plain, which stretches to the northern border from the village of Marjahin in Hermel, he told Al-Mashareq.

Asyad al-Hudoud is comprised of a number of smugglers who operate in the north under cover of Hizbullah, an anti-Hizbullah activist from Baalbek, who asked not to be named, told Al-Mashareq.

They also operate in Hermel and in areas along the border where the residents are sympathetic to Hizbullah, he said.

"The smuggling occurs on a daily basis, and includes olive oil, honey, dates, rice, cleaning materials, canned foods, medicine and drugs from Syria to Lebanon, and fuel, foodstuffs, stolen cars and wanted individuals from Lebanon to Syria."

The smuggling operations circumvent the sanctions imposed on the Syrian regime and Hizbullah, and take advantage of the ravaged economy in both Syria and Lebanon, he said.

An age-old issue

Smugglers have been active in northern Lebanon's Akkar region and Wadi Khaled since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, Lebanese military analyst and retired army officer Naji Malaeb told Al-Mashareq.

But Hizbullah and the 4th Division currently have control over the border in the north, and they oversee smuggling through the northern crossings, he said.

The most alarming cases of smuggling involve individuals who are wanted by either country's judiciary, Malaeb said.

Smuggling between Lebanon and Syria is an age-old issue, but since the onset of the Syrian conflict, the number of illegal border crossings has exceeded 150, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Defence.

There is a constant problem with cross-border smuggling, economist Violette Ghazal al-Balaa said, noting that the frequency of these operations varies according to the circumstances in the two countries.

"The al-Assad regime and Hizbullah are still circumventing the US sanctions imposed on Syria in any way they can, and the evidence is the continued smuggling across the border areas," she said.

They are taking advantage of the economic collapse and the crisis the residents of both countries are facing to reap enormous profits, al-Balaa said, pointing out that in the process, they are further straining the Lebanese economy.