Prigozhin's son has built a drug empire in Africa with the remnants of the Wagner Group – WSJ

Militants from the “Wagner Group” who remained in the Central African Republic (CAR) after the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin and the transfer of the group’s main assets under Kremlin control, have established a drug empire in the upper reaches of the Ubangi River. Led by Pavel Prigozhin, the son of the PMC’s founder, the group of approximately 500 mercenaries has remained beyond the reach of both local law enforcement and Russian authorities.

The basis of the Wagner Group’s new business has become the large-scale smuggling of tramadol—a powerful painkiller that acts as a stimulant in high doses. The drug is sold on a massive scale in doses that significantly exceed medical standards and is supplied to local miners, participants in pro-Russian rallies, militants, as well as members of the presidential guard and militia forces under their control.

The tramadol scheme allows mercenaries to finance their control over local gold and forest resources. Illegal gold exports bring the group approximately $180 million a year, while drug smuggling generates additional revenue. The rise in the drug’s use has coincided with a nearly 20% increase in the number of deaths in battles over the deposits.

Due to their deep integration into the local political and military system, Moscow has been unable to bring these remnants of the structure under its control. Currently, Wagner Group members effectively control the CAR’s state institutions, serving as the regime’s military backbone and rerouting smuggling flows across the Ubangi River to Kogno. Researchers warn that the CAR remains Wagner’s last stronghold in Africa, from which it is expanding its influence into neighboring Sudan by coordinating actions with the rebel “Rapid Support Forces” (RSF).

This is reported by The Wall Street Journal.