$858 million to pin Captagon trafficking on Syria
Voltaire NetworkNov 24, 2022
Dubai Police Seizes $1B Worth of 'Captagon' Amphetamines
Image copyright: US Army [via Wikimedia Commons]
The Facts
Dubai Police have seized 86M tablets of the amphetamine known as "Captagon" — valued at over $1B — smuggled into the country hidden in a shipment of doors and wooden panels.
Six people were arrested in relation to the seizure. An international gang was allegedly planning to ship the illicit narcotics in five storage containers to the UAE.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The Arab Gulf states will have to reconsider normalization with the Syrian regime, as Damascus, with the help of Iran and its proxies, continues to act as a rogue narco-state, polluting the entire region and beyond with illicit amphetamines. The connection between the Syrian regime and the drug trade is well-documented. Curbing drug smuggling must be a top priority for the Arab League as it deals with Assad and his cronies.
Establishment-critical narrative
Though Gulf-funded media may seek to spread falsehoods that the Syrian government and Hezbollah are producing and smuggling Captagon, one should be dubious of these claims considering the links with Saudi Arabia. Riyadh is one of the biggest consumers of illicit amphetamines, and Syria and Lebanon have become Captagon production hubs due to US-backed economic collapse via war and sanctions. This trade is very much a Gulf-oriented phenomenon.