Saudi Arabia foils attempt to import Captagon shipment by group linked to Hezbollah

Saudi Arabia and Nigeria have thwarted an attempt to import over 450,000 Captagon amphetamine tablets into the Kingdom by a network linked to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The network was reportedly trying to smuggle 451,807 Captagon amphetamine tablets to the Kingdom, by sea, from Lebanon to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. According to SPA, the drugs were hidden inside mechanical equipment.

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The packages were seized, in coordination with the counterparts in the Republic of Nigeria, before being shipped to another country and sent to the Kingdom.

The security spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, Colonel Talal al-Shalhoub, stated that the proactive security follow-up of the activities of criminal networks that smuggle drugs into the Kingdom resulted in thwarting an attempt by one of the drug production and smuggling networks linked to the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah.

A attempt to ship Captagon pills inside machinery was foiled by Saudi authorities. (Twitter)

The security spokesman praised the positive cooperation of the counterparts in the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the follow-up and seizure of narcotic substances, stressing that the Kingdom continues to follow up on criminal activities targeting the security of the Kingdom and its youth with drugs, to confront and thwart them, and to arrest those involved.

Captagon and fighters

Captagon is used by fighters at war because of the effects it can have on fatigue. It is an amphetamine that has widely been made and exported illegally from Lebanon.

Lebanese officials pledged to do more to combat drug smuggling out of the country after Saudi Arabia ordered a ban on all produce imports from Beirut.

Ties between Beirut and Riyadh have soured in recent years following the steady rise of Hezbollah and its increased influence over the Lebanese state and its institutions. Hezbollah continues to support Yemen’s Houthi militia, which attacks Saudi Arabia and civilians inside the Kingdom almost daily.

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