Egypt seizes $39 mln worth of Captagon, hashish, in boxes labelled ‘made in Lebanon’

Egypt has seized drugs worth $39 million after intercepting a container transiting from one Arab country to another, state-owned online newspaper Al-Ahram Gate reported on Wednesday.

The container, which was transiting through the Egyptian port, had eight million super-strength “Captagon” amphetamine pills and nine tons of hashish.

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The General Administration for Narcotics Control seized the container which had carton boxes labelled “Made in Lebanon” containing the narcotics.

There were no immediate details on who had been trying to transport them, but the statement said an investigation into the smuggling attempt was continuing.

Consumption of “Captagon” outside the Middle East is negligible, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said last year, but it is a significant drug in the Gulf. Lebanon and neighboring Syria are conduit routes for the drug.

Scientists say “Captagon” is a super-boosted amphetamine with unique chemical complexities allowing it to induce potent psychoactive effects far more rapidly than amphetamines alone.

- With Reuters

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