Maher Assad 'spotted sipping coffee in Moscow' months after Syrian regime collapse

Maher Assad, the brother of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and former head of the regime's most feared military unit, has reportedly surfaced in Moscow for the first time since the fall of his family's brutal rule in December.

In footage shared online on Tuesday, Maher appears relaxed in a high-end cafe on the outskirts of the Russian capital, seated beside his close associate Eid Ayloush.

Maher could be seen scrolling through his phone, seemingly unaware he was being filmed. Activists said the video was taken earlier that day, confirming long-standing reports that he had fled Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime in December.

The New Arab could not independently verify the footage. 

The reported sighting ends months of speculation over the whereabouts of the man known as "The Enforcer", who left a legacy of torture, massacres, and chemical weapons attacks during his command of the notorious 4th Armoured Division.

As rebels stormed Damascus in early December, Maher reportedly escaped through a vast underground tunnel network built beneath his palatial homes, before flying to Iraq by helicopter and then on to Russia, where his family is believed to have stashed millions in property and offshore assets.

Despite being wanted for crimes against humanity, including for his role in the 2013 Ghouta sarin gas attack that killed over 1,000 civilians, Maher is now living freely in exile.

Once the regime's chief enforcer, Maher oversaw the military's most violent crackdowns during the 2011 uprising and commanded both the 4th Division and the Republican Guard, elite forces used to crush dissent with overwhelming brutality.

Though formally part of the army, the 4th Division operated as an autonomous militia, answering directly to Maher through a shadowy security office that bypassed the defence ministry.

He also ran a multibillion-dollar drugs empire, manufacturing and trafficking Captagon, an addictive amphetamine-like stimulant, on an industrial scale.

Following the regime's collapse, rebel fighters uncovered factories, warehouses, and equipment tied to Maher's narco-state, including a haul of pills hidden in electrical goods bound for export.

A 2024 AFP investigation exposed the extent of his corruption. Documents retrieved from abandoned regime offices showed that Maher's network held over $80 million, €8 million, and tens of billions of Syrian pounds in cash, with records detailing systematic looting and extortion between 2021 and 2024.