SAUDI AUTHORITIES SEIZE 2.2 MILLION CAPTAGON PILLS HIDDEN IN BAKLAVA SHIPMENT

Captagon pills hidden in boxes of baklava. (SPA)

Tue 15 August 2023:

Saudi authorities arrested two individuals after they uncovered 2,242,560 Captagon pills hidden in boxes of baklava at the Jeddah Islamic Port, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Sunday.

The individuals were attempting to smuggle the narcotics through Saudi Arabia’s port but were caught by officials at the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA).

The seizure at Jeddah port on Sunday is the latest interception in a campaign by security forces in the kingdom to stamp out smuggling of the drug, which Arab officials say originates in Syrian areas under the control of President Bashar Al Assad.

The Saudi Customs Authority did not reveal from where the baklava arrived, nor the nationality of two men it said were the intended recipients. They were both arrested.

“The pills were found under the baklava layers,” the authority said.

ZATCA said it coordinated with the General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) to arrest the two individuals who were supposed to receive the shipment and referred their case to the Public Prosecution.

JORDANIAN ARMY SHOOTS DOWN CRYSTAL METH-LADEN DRONE FROM SYRIA

Drug–smuggling drone

In Amman, a military official said a drone carrying a crystal meth shipment was intercepted on Sunday as it crossed into Jordanian territory from Syria.

He said Jordanian border forces “followed, controlled and brought down” the small aircraft.

Last week, Jordan’s police said a security committee destroyed 12.5 million Captagon pills seized in hundreds of drugs cases in the kingdom.

In the past five years, Captagon has come to be regarded as national security threat to Saudi Arabia and Jordan, the main conduit for the drug into inner Arabia. Jordan has been also a growing market for Captagon, several Arab officials who are tracking the flows say.

ARMY AND INTELLIGENCE CHIEFS FROM SYRIA AND JORDAN MEET OVER DRUG WAR ALONG BORDER

The issue has been a key point of diplomatic talks amid a regional drive to re-establish Arab ties with Mr Al Assad, who was ostracised by most Middle Eastern countries as his security forces violently suppressed the 2011 revolt against his rule. By the end of that year, Syria was in civil war, after the revolt became militarised.

In May, the Syrian President was invited to an Arab League summit in Riyadh, partly in the hope of securing his co-operation in reducing Captagon flows. An Arab committee was formed to follow up on the normalisation and last month Syrian and Arab security officials held a meeting in Amman to discuss counter-narcotics.

Assad said in an interview with Sky News Arabia, which was broadcast last Wednesday, that countries he did not name had “contributed to creating chaos in Syria”, including Captagon trafficking.

The same day, an article in the official Syrian Baath party newspaper said Syria attended the Arab summit based on “a spirit and promises that were different to what we are hearing today”.

Saudi Arabia’s Narcotics Control Law differentiates between narcotics smugglers, dealers, and users when it comes to the punishment.

Individuals who smuggle narcotics and bring them into the country can face the death penalty.

Punishments for dealers and users include prison sentences, hefty fines, and deportation.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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