DAMASCUS: The Syrian interior ministry said Monday that it had seized about 11 million captagon stimulant pills that entered the country from neighboring Lebanon in one of the largest busts since the fall of former ruler Bashar Assad.
In a statement, the interior ministry said “the anti-narcotics branch in Homs province seized a vehicle coming from Lebanon containing approximately 11 million captagon pills.”
The statement added that the authorities are continuing to “conduct the necessary investigations to uncover the identities of those involved and identify the criminal networks linked to the operation.”
Captagon, which is similar to amphetamines, became Syria’s largest export during the civil war that erupted in 2011, with its trade serving as a key funding source for the government of ousted president Assad.
Since his fall in December, the new authorities have reported numerous major seizures of captagon across the country. However, neighboring countries continue to report the interception of large shipments.
