A drug haul worth more than Dh4 billion seized in the Italian port city of Naples has been linked to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
Authorities in Italy earlier said the shipment of Captagon, said to be the world’s largest, had been made by ISIS to fund terrorism.
Previous hauls of the amphetamine derivative discovered in Greece, Italy and elsewhere were linked to the terrorist group. But tell-tale signs from the raid – and the quantity found – point to the involvement of the Assad regime, reported The Sunday Times.
A Syrian businessman with knowledge of the country’s paper industry told the British newspaper the 84 million tablets of Captagon had been hidden inside paper rolls that would have required industrial machinery to make, equipment to which ISIS did not have access.
The German publication Der Spiegel reported the pills were made in an area south of Syria's principal port, Latakia, in a factory owned by President Assad's uncle. They were then packaged in Aleppo in a paper plant in the city.
The factory has denied any involvement with the shipment found in Italy. A representative said it had opened too recently to become part of a drug smuggling plot.
But a promotional video for the plant shows it manufactures the same type of cylinders as those discovered in Naples.
Police in Italy conceded that ISIS could have been involved in the smuggling operation but the pills made elsewhere. It is unclear whether ISIS itself ever produced the substance.
Captagon, a street name for the drug fenethylline, has long been popular in the Middle East. It creates euphoria and suppresses tiredness, and has been used by ISIS fighters on the battlefield.
Captagon was found in the bodies of the attackers who killed 130 people in the French capital in November 2015. ISIS-affiliated groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria have also used the stimulant.
The shipment seized in Naples last week is not the first drug haul to have originated in Latakia. Captagon and other drugs have been intercepted across the Middle East and Mediterranean, often after departing the Syrian port.
Last year Greek authorities seized 60 pallets filled with Captagon pills in Piraeus after a tip-off from the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
The Greek press reported that documents seized by narcotics agents showed the cargo had been loaded in Latakia.
Previous drug busts of substances including the opiate tramadol have uncovered an intricate web stretching around the globe that links extremism with drug smugglers and other organised crime.
Authorities in Italy and the size of the haul have indicated the involvement of the Camorra organised crime syndicate, which operates a vast criminal enterprise in Naples and surrounding Campania.
The Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, one of the Assad regime’s closest allies, has been deeply implanted within the global drug-smuggling network for decades and analysts have questioned whether the armed group had invested in Captagon.
Iran, a close backer of both the Syrian regime and Hezbollah, also leased part of Latakia in 2019.
The Assad family itself has been implicated in drugs smuggling in the past. In April, in Egypt, officials uncovered hashish secreted in milk cartons produced by a business owned by Rami Makhlouf, one of Mr Assad’s cousins. The billionaire and the Syrian president have subsequently had a public parting of ways.
Captagon has been manufactured in the Middle East for decades. Syrian chemists, training in Bulgaria during the Cold War, produced the drug for export. They returned from the Soviet state and used their expertise in Aleppo and Damascus.
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIER
Results
UAE beat Nigeria by five wickets
Hong Kong beat Canada by 32 runs
Friday fixtures
10am, Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi – Ireland v Jersey
7.30pm, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi – Canada v Oman
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Three stars
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The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
Company%20Profile
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