Captagon
 Captagon  (amphetamine, drug)   | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Start | 1961 |
| Interest of | Radwan Mortada |
| An amphetamine widely used by soldiers especially in the middle east. | |
Fenethylline (BAN, USAN) is a codrug of amphetamine and theophylline which behaves as a prodrug to both of the aforementioned drugs. It is also spelled phenethylline and fenetylline (INN); other names for it are amphetaminoethyltheophylline and amfetyline. The drug was marketed for use as a psychostimulant under the brand names Captagon, Biocapton, and Fitton.[1][2]
It is used as a drug for soldiers on the battlefield, in the Middle East especially.[3] CBC termed it "the nightmare drug fuelling Syria's civil war".[4]
Production
Syria
Syria has been on the receiving end of Captagon fueled violence, the drug at one point being termed "the drug of jihad". Zerohedge reports in mid 2023 that Syria is now being blamed for the production of the drug and notes:[6]
It is certainly ironic and dubious that the West now widely blames the Assad government for the proliferation of Captagon, given that for much of the last decade it was anti-government insurgents known to be the heaviest users. [...]
As for pro-Assad networks allegedly being deep in the current Captagon trade, this is a trend likely fueled by Washington having for years sanctioned Syria to hell. Currently the US-led sanctions on the Syrian government are among the most brutal and far-reaching in the world, unleashing runaway inflation, hunger, and lack of electricity — and the trend in the MENA region has been that wherever poverty and political instability persists, the Captagon trade ratchets up.
Currently, anti-Assad activists who are attempting to thwart Gulf-Damascus rapprochement are harping on the issue in order to argue that Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and other Arab states must resist normalization with the Syrian government.
Consumption
A 2020 report by the Technium Social Sciences Journal notes that, according to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime data, the number of Captagon drug users is greater than for cocaine and heroin and countries located on the Arabian Peninsula, like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, are major users of Captagon.[7]
Smuggling
A Saudi prince, Abdel Mohsen Bin Walid Bin Abdulaziz, was arrested in Syria with 2 tons of illegal drugs on board his private jet,[8] a record seizure in Beirut.[9]
Related Document
References
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=x2Su3GKCvtsC&pg=PA3140
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=5GpcTQD_L2oC&pg=PA431
- ↑ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34700489
- ↑ https://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/episode-340-amphetamines-in-syria-stanley-cup-bassist-noriega-s-pen-pal-subversive-board-games-and-more-1.4139584/meet-captagon-the-nightmare-drug-fuelling-syria-s-civil-war-1.4139601
- ↑ https://globalinitiative.net/captagon/
- ↑ https://www.zerohedge.com/political/europe-braces-3-pill-poor-mans-cocaine-flood-streets-after-gulf-crackdown
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20230818202650/https://media.neliti.com/media/publications/354095-increased-captagon-tablets-seizures-in-s-42e77e21.pdf
- ↑ http://www.mintpressnews.com/saudi-prince-arrested-at-beirut-airport-with-2-tons-of-drugs/210651/
- ↑ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34700489
