BILLION-DOLLAR CAPTAGON PILLS SEIZED IN ITALY BELONGED TO SYRIA, HEZBOLLAH

Sun 27 December 2020:

Italy revealed Friday that nearly 15 tons of smuggled Captagon amphetamine pills seized last year by the authorities, appeared to have originated from Lebanon’s Hezbollah not ISIS, according to the Italian Nova news agency.

Italy seized a world-record haul of 14 tons of amphetamines – Captagon – made in Syria. Italy blames the Islamic State, but the drugs embarked from Latakia, a port under the control of Assad. The regime, its cronies or Hezbollah are more likely suspects.pic.twitter.com/CnMxHpSIiZ

— Mike (@Doranimated) July 2, 2020

During the summer, the Italian authorities said they had seized about 14 tonnes (15.4 US tons) of the amphetamine Captagon arriving from Syria – about 84 million pills, worth around $1 billion – in what they described as the world’s single largest operation of its kind.

Investigations run by a Naples prosecutor said the financial value of the confiscated drugs amounted to about one billion dollars.

‘Hezbollah’s Narco Jihad’: Revealing the details of the group’s drug trade, money laundering

Italian authorities previously believed that ISIS was behind the drug smuggling operation.

However, investigations showed that the Syrian regime and Hezbollah were behind it.

The drugs were contained in three suspicious containers that included papers intended for industrial use and iron wheels.

Record-breaking seizure of drug Captagon in Italy reveals scale of illegal drug production in Syriahttps://t.co/KbfEqPfwuH pic.twitter.com/w3BBtvcVjc

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 21, 2020

As part of an investigation broadcast by the BBC, the Italian Financial Crimes Unit provided details of the shipment, saying that it arrived from Syria and was seized last summer in an operation described as the largest of its kind.

Photo: This photo grabbed from an undated video handout shows the seized drugs [Guardia di Finanza press office/AFP]