Investigators chase Syria's former spy chief using his hidden phone directory

Reporters examined a notebook found in Hussam Luka’s abandoned Damascus flat, using its contacts to try locating the sanctioned intelligence chief who vanished after Assad’s fall.

A team of reporters entered an empty upscale flat in Damascus and found a notebook filled with hundreds of contacts kept by Hussam Luka, the former head of Syria’s General Security Directorate. Luka, a sanctioned official dubbed “The Spider,” disappeared in December 2024 when the Assad regime collapsed. The investigators dialed dozens of numbers from the book, but most calls ended abruptly or were met with denials.

Attempts to meet individuals listed, including doctors and a former building guard, produced only vague references to Luka’s family and no concrete whereabouts. The notebook also contained Russian awards and a New Year’s greeting, suggesting some connection to Moscow, though the journalists could not verify his location. Syrian Attorney General Hassan al-Turba announced a domestic and international warrant for Luka on charges of premeditated murder, torture and death resulting from torture, while families of victims continue to demand accountability.