Latest news with #captagon
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Iraqi authorities smash drug-smuggling ring in Damascus and seize 1.3m captagon capsules
LONDON: Iraqi authorities said that they have dismantled a criminal network in the Syrian capital Damascus involved in international drug trafficking. The Iraqi Interior Ministry's General Directorate of Drug Affairs revealed that officers seized more than 1.3 million capsules of captagon, an amphetamine-type stimulant, during a special operation carried out in collaboration with their Syrian counterparts. The haul weighed about 215 kilograms and had a street value of millions of dollars. Because the operation took place outside of Iraq, approval was obtained from the Rusafa Central Investigative Court in Baghdad. It was carried out under the supervision of Iraq's prime minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, and its interior minister, Abdul Amir Al-Shammari. The ministry said the operation was the result of thorough intelligence efforts and information from reliable sources, obtained in collaboration with the Syrian Anti-Narcotics Department. It represented a significant advance in global efforts to address cross-border threats, the ministry added, and demonstrated Iraq's commitment to protecting the public from drug trafficking.
France 24
7 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
War against captagon: Why is Saudi Arabia executing drug dealers on a massive scale?
Those found guilty of drug trafficking face the death penalty in Saudi Arabia. Of a total of 217 executions since the start of 2025, 144 have been put to death for drug-related offences. If the pace of executions continues, this year's total will surpass that of 2024, when 338 people were executed in the kingdom – the most since 1990. At the heart of this crackdown is the illegal amphetamine-like drug captagon, very much in demand in the Middle East. And Saudi Arabia, the Arab world 's largest economy, is one of its main consumers, according to the UN. Captagon: Rich consumers, poor dealers Captagon has become popular among wealthy young people in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, and is sold mainly by poor, immigrant dealers. Saudi Arabia executed 37 people for drug-related offences in June, Amnesty International reported this month. Of these, 34 were nationals from Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria. 'We are witnessing a truly horrifying trend, with foreign nationals being put to death at a startling rate for crimes that should never carry the death penalty,' said Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty's deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. Human rights activists argue that capital punishment is detrimental to the image of tolerance and modernity that the kingdom seeks to project. And it seems to know this. Following the global outcry over the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Riyadh needed to do something to "polish' its international image, says Karim Sader, a political scientist and consultant specialising in the Gulf states. So it instituted a 33-month moratorium on executions for drug offences. It resumed these executions in November 2022, and Sader says the recent surge in executions is largely due to the backlog that resulted from the suspension. But the deaths of these foreign immigrant dealers 'will attract far less media coverage than Saudi dissidents' sentenced to death for political reasons, he says. 'The war on drugs justifies everything' Domestic political concerns are the main rationale behind the current crusade against captagon, Sader says. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is concerned that Saudi society 'will be corrupted by the scourge of drugs' and he wants to avoid this, 'even if it means using brutal means and shocking international organisations – especially Western ones". "The war on drugs justifies everything," Sader says. Taking a hard line is also politically expedient, given that the crown prince – who initiated a modest opening up of Saudi Arabia's authoritarian Islamic society – also has to contend with the 'conservative fringes' of Saudi society. For them, drug-related crimes should be punishable by death, Sader says. "The Saudi authorities hope that by hitting hard enough, they will succeed in dissuading drug trafficking," he says. The director of public security, Mohammed al-Bassami, in June reported "tangible positive results, with hard blows dealt to traffickers and smugglers", according to the influential Saudi daily Okaz. But Sader suggests that a successful anti-drug campaign must be multi-pronged. "We know that in the face of the drug challenge, repression alone is not enough," he says. The fall of Assad in Syria, the end of captagon in Arabia? In the fight against captagon, sometimes called the "poor man's cocaine", Riyadh can count on at least one regional ally: Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria's interim president. The day his rebel forces seized power in Damascus in December 2024, al-Sharaa referred to captagon in his victory speech. 'Syria has become the biggest producer of captagon on Earth,' he said. 'And today, Syria is going to be purified by the grace of God.' During Syria's 14-year-long civil war, captagon became the country's most important export, according to an investigation by The New York Times. Syria was producing 80 percent of the world's captagon by 2023. It became so prevalent that some Arab countries agreed that year to normalise relations with President Bashar al-Assad if he promised that Syria would stop flooding the region with the drug. Captagon production came to be the main source of revenue for Syria, a country shattered by war and hit hard by international sanctions. And Assad's closest allies – his brother Maher, in particular – were among the main beneficiaries of the multi-billion-dollar drug trade, which transformed Syria into a sort of 'narco-state'. Six months after the fall of Assad, the transitional Syrian authorities announced in June that all captagon production facilities had been seized. Meanwhile in Lebanon, Hezbollah – which has also profited from captagon trafficking – has been considerably weakened by the war with Israel. But while these trends might curtail the traffic in captagon, they are unlikely to bring an end to it. "The fall of Assad and the weakening of Hezbollah will help to stop captagon being trafficked to Saudi Arabia,' Sader says. 'But we will never be able to stop 100 percent of it.'
Arab News
18-07-2025
- 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.'
