Record seizure of Captagon amphetamine tablets in southern Turkey

HATAY – Anadolu Agency

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Turkish police seized a huge shipment of amphetamine tablets near the border with Syria on the night of Nov. 19.

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The operation seized a record amount of 1,800 kilograms of the drug Captagon in Hatay, Turkey’s southernmost province that borders northwest Syria. The seized shipment of 11 million tablets is thought to have been bound for the Gulf.

Captagon is the trademark name for synthetic stimulant fenethylline. It is widely used in the Middle East and is used by many fighters in Syria to stave off fatigue and fear.

The drug is also said to be manufactured and sold by the warring sides in Syria to fund the civil war. Prices vary but it has been reportedly sold for as much as $20 in cities such as Dubai.

The tablets were found by police in Hatay in two operations. Police first seized more than 7 million tablets produced in Syria, hidden among a shipment of oil filters bound for Gulf states, according to an official speaking to Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity. Police later raided a depot in Hatay and discovered 3.6 million packaged tablets.

One Syrian and two Turks have been detained on suspicion of drug trafficking.