In the summer of 2015, a businessman in Latakia, a Syrian province, approached a powerful security chief, who asked him for a favor. The official wanted the trader, an importer of medical supplies, to supply large quantities of a drug called phenethylene from outside. The regime, he said, would buy the quantity.
After an internet search, the dealer made a decision. He left home the same week, first sending his wife and children into exile, then gathering what he could from his businesses and leaving for a fresh start. "I know what they were asking me to do," he told the Guardian from his new home in Paris. "They wanted the main ingredient for the Captagon. And that medicine is a dirty business. "
The production of Captagon in the heart of Syria has become one of the most recent stories of starting a new business. From the devastation of Syria and the equally catastrophic collapse across the border into Lebanon, a new reality is crystallizing: both countries will quickly become narco-states, if not done.
Officials in Europe and anti-crime authorities have repeatedly revealed large shipments with the Captagon. "They are very dangerous people," a senior Beirut official told the Guardian. "They are not afraid of anyone."
Captagon is one of the few brand names for the composition of the drug phenethylene hydrochloride, which is an addictive and widely used stimulant throughout the Middle East and is sometimes referred to as "poor man's cocaine". It is also used by armed groups and other forces in battle situations, where it is seen to have properties that increase courage.
Latakia në veçanti ka qenë nën vëzhgimin intensiv të policisë dhe agjencive të inteligjencës europiane dhe amerikane. Sasi të konsiderueshme janë gjetur vazhdimisht në qytete europiane, gjë që ngre dyshimin se ky ilaç nuk lidhet vetëm me Lindjen e Mesme. Zyrtarët europianë e kanë lidhur tregtimin e Captagon-it me grupet terroriste të Shteti Islamik dhe grupimin politik libanez, Hezbollah.
"Siria është një narko-shtet me dy përbërës kryesor shqetësues: hashashi dhe stimuluesi i tipit amfetaminë Captagon", thotë një raport i organizatës Qendra për Analizë Operacionale dhe Kërkimore, e cila përqëndrohet në Siri. “Siria është epiqendra globale e prodhimit të Captagon, i cili tani është më i industrializuar, i përshtatur dhe teknikisht më i sofistikuar se kurrë.”
In 2020, Captagon exports from Syria reached a market value of at least $ 3.46 billion.
Source: Guardian
