Is the mafia in business with ISIS? Italian police seize a record one billion euros worth of amphetamine pills 'made by the Islamic State' hidden in container ship
Italian police have seized a record 1 billion euros worth of amphetamine pills known as the 'drug of the Jihad' that arrived from Syria.
Investigators discovered 84 million pills of the drug Captagon inside machinery and large cylinders when they impounded three container ships that docked in the southern port of Salerno.
The operation was 'the biggest seizure of amphetamines in the world', customs police colonel Domenico Napolitano said.
The port of Salerno is in traditional Italian mafia territory and organised crime has long been suspected of having control over drugs coming into the port.
Captagon is popular in the Middle East, and widespread in war-torn areas such as Syria, where conflict has fuelled demand and created opportunities for producers.
Police used electric saws to cut through cylinders and steel drums, made thick enough to try and evade customs' scanning devices
Captagon was used in the 1960s to treat narcolepsy and depression and is one of several brand names for fenethylline hydrochloride
A police statement said Captagon was known as the 'drug of the Jihad' after being found in militant hideouts, including one used by the Islamists who killed 90 people at the Bataclan theatre in Paris in 2015.
Production was initially concentrated in Lebanon and it provides the Islamic State group with revenue to finance its militant activities, police said.
A video posted to the Italian Financial Guard military force's Twitter page showed agents using saws to cut into large paper and steel drums to reveal thousands of tablets stuffed inside.
Police used electric saws to cut through 6.5-foot high cylinders, made thick enough to try and evade customs' scanning devices, as they removed the pills from the hollow centers.
Italian authorities believe the coronavirus lockdown across Europe has hindered the production and distribution of synthetic drugs, forcing traffickers to organise shipments from Syria to fill the market
Police say they're investigating if Naples-based Camorra organized crime clans might have ordered the huge shipment for international sale. Two weeks earlier, a much smaller shipment of the drug was also seized in Salerno's port in a shipment of counterfeit clothing
The operation was 'the biggest seizure of amphetamines in the world', customs police colonel Domenico Napolitano said
Captagon was used in the 1960s to treat narcolepsy and depression and is one of several brand names for fenethylline hydrochloride, a drug compound belonging to a family of amphetamines that can inhibit fear and ward off tiredness.
Italian authorities believe the coronavirus lockdown across Europe has hindered the production and distribution of synthetic drugs, forcing traffickers to organise shipments from Syria to fill the market.
Police say they're investigating if Naples-based Camorra organized crime clans might have ordered the huge shipment for international sale.
Two weeks earlier a much smaller shipment of the drug was also seized in Salerno's port in a shipment of counterfeit clothing.
In that raid, investigators one million Captagon pills as well as 2,800kg of hashish.
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