Latest news with #captagon
Arab News
5 days ago
- Arab News
Saudi authority thwarts smuggling of captagon haul
RIYADH: The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority has thwarted an attempt to smuggle 310,000 pills of captagon, an amphetamine-type narcotic. The haul was found concealed in a vehicle entering the Kingdom through Jeddah Islamic Port. Hamoud Al-Harbi, the authority's spokesman, said the pills were detected during inspection and screening procedures at the port. The authority coordinated with the General Directorate of Narcotics Control following the seizure and arrested eight individuals who were planning to receive the goods inside the Kingdom. Al-Harbi reaffirmed the authority's commitment to strict customs enforcement over the Kingdom's imports and exports in order to protect society from smuggling operations. He added that these efforts were carried out in close cooperation and coordination with the directorate.
LBCI
15-07-2025
- LBCI
Inside Lebanon's biggest drug lab: Lebanese Army tightens grip on Bekaa drug lords
Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi Lebanese Army Intelligence has dismantled what is described as the largest drug manufacturing facility uncovered to date in the Bekaa region, operated by one of the most notorious narcotics traffickers in Lebanon and the Middle East. The operation, conducted in the town of Yammouneh, revealed a sprawling underground drug lab outfitted with hidden tunnels, camouflaged walls, and high-tech equipment. The drug dealer, identified as Jalal Sh., whose criminal career began in 2010 in Beirut, first entered the drug world by importing raw materials and specialized equipment for captagon production, which he then sold to major manufacturers. He later moved his operations to Yammouneh, where he established his own production network. Security officials say he recently monopolized the production of crystal captagon in Lebanon, employing a network of individuals from multiple nationalities—including a European expert wanted by Interpol — to oversee the complex chemical processes. Over the years, the military has raided several of his facilities, seizing large quantities of drugs, machinery, and precursor chemicals. Despite an intensified crackdown on the drug trade, Jalal remained one of the few high-profile traffickers able to maintain operations, partly due to his advanced manufacturing capabilities and his role in supplying pills to other dealers for $1,000 per crate. Security agencies have linked Jalal to several wanted narcotics traffickers, including Ali and Hassan Sh., Hamza and Mohammad Jaafar, and Malek A. His network was behind numerous professionally concealed shipments of drugs intercepted before reaching international markets. Monday's raid marks a significant blow to Lebanon's narcotics underworld. The Lebanese Armed Forces and Army Intelligence have vowed to continue their campaign against drug manufacturing and smuggling networks. In 2025 alone, they have uncovered 20 drug labs and seized more than 13,300 kilograms of captagon pills.
Arab News
14-07-2025
- Arab News
Lebanese army destroys major captagon and crystal meth lab, seals off tunnel
The Lebanese army has dismantled what it described as one of the largest captagon pill-manufacturing labs discovered to date in Yammoune in the Baalbek region of eastern Lebanon. Army chiefs said on Monday that forces raided the facility 24 hours earlier. 'After the Intelligence Directorate obtained information about a major captagon pill lab in the town of Yammoune, a patrol from the directorate, supported by a unit from the army, carried out a raid on the lab,' it said. 'The personnel dismantled the equipment and machinery used, weighing about 10 tonnes, and destroyed part of it.' The patrol also 'seized a huge quantity of captagon pills, crystal meth, and various other narcotic substances.' Army chiefs added: 'The lab contained a tunnel used for entry and exit, and army personnel brought in a bulldozer and filled in the tunnel, which was approximately 300 meters long.' The tunnel was 'also used to store part of the lab's equipment.' The statement did not reveal who was operating the lab or whether anyone was arrested during the raid. 'The seized materials are now in the custody of the security agencies,' it said. 'An investigation has begun under the supervision of the competent judiciary, and efforts are ongoing to arrest those involved.'
Al Arabiya
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Lebanese army says seizes ‘one of the largest' captagon factories to date
The Lebanese army said on Monday it dismantled 'one of the largest' captagon factories during a raid in the northeastern Baalbek province near neighboring Syria, previously the largest exporter of the amphetamine-like narcotic. In a statement, the army said that 'after the intelligence directorate received information about a major captagon pill factory in the town of Yammouneh, Baalbek, a patrol from the directorate, supported by an army unit, raided the factory.' The military added that the factory 'turned out to be one of the largest factories seized to date.' Soldiers dismantled the machinery and seized a 'large quantity' of pills, though the army did not specify how many. Captagon became Syria's largest export following the eruption of the civil war in 2011, and a key source of illicit funding for former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government. In Lebanon, al-Assad's ally Hezbollah also faced accusations of using the captagon trade to finance itself. The drug has flooded the region, with neighboring countries occasionally announcing captagon seizures and asking Lebanon and Syria to ramp up efforts to combat the trade. With AFP
LBCI
28-06-2025
- LBCI
Major drug bust on Syrian-Lebanese border: 500,000 captagon pills seized
Syrian internal security forces in the Al Nabk area, in coordination with the anti-narcotics branch in rural Damascus, intercepted a vehicle carrying a large drug shipment near the Syrian-Lebanese border. The shipment, which originated in Lebanon, contained 500,000 captagon pills, 500 bricks of hashish, and 165 kilograms of processed hashish. Two individuals involved in the smuggling operation were arrested and referred to the competent judicial authorities for legal action.
