Oman arrests drug network and seizes six million Captagon pills

Authorities track international smuggling gang in co-operation with Saudi Arabia

The Captagon pills were found in warehouses and were ready to be smuggled. AFP

Oman's authorities arrested an international drug smuggling network and seized more than six million Captagon pills, the Royal Police said on Thursday.

The international network, which smuggled narcotics and psychotropic substances in shipments and goods by land and sea, had been tracked by authorities, the Oman Royal Police said.

The network was monitored and caught in co-operation with Saudi authorities, the police said. The Captagon pills were found in warehouses and were ready to be smuggled.

Captagon is thought to be the Middle East's most used narcotic.

The drug was created in 1961 as an alternative to amphetamines and methamphetamines. It was used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and, less commonly, depression.

It never received regulatory approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Captagon was declared a controlled substance in 1981 after doctors said its addictive properties outweighed its clinical benefits.

By 1986, its manufacture had been outlawed in almost every country, but illegal production continued.