The illegal amphetamine, used across the Middle East, became Syria’s biggest export during its 13-year civil war.
Rebel fighters in Syria said on Friday that they had found vast stockpiles of an illegal amphetamine called captagon in a Damascus warehouse.
Captagon was the cornerstone of a narcotics-trafficking ring that was run by relatives and associates of the deposed President Bashar al-Assad, eclipsing Syria’s legal exports and turning the country into a narcostate. But what is captagon, and how did Syria become the hub for its manufacture and distribution?
Here’s what you need to know:
- What is captagon?
- Who uses it?
- What is the captagon market worth?
- How did the Assad government get involved?
- Will Syria’s new leaders crack down?
What is captagon?
Captagon is the former trade name for fenethylline, a synthetic stimulant created in Germany in the early 1960s to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, and narcolepsy. Most countries banned it in the 1980s because it was found to be highly addictive, with dangerous side effects that include psychosis, severe anxiety and suicidal tendencies. The illicit version sold today, often referred to as “captagon” with a lowercase c, usually contains a mix of amphetamines, caffeine and various fillers that are easier and cheaper to obtain. Produced for pennies a pill in Syria, captagon can sell for anywhere from $3 to $20 a pop on the street.
Who uses it?
It is not widely used in the most of the world but is ubiquitous in the Middle East, where it is known as ‘Abu Hilalain,’ or ‘father of the two crescents’ for the logo of two interlocking Cs stamped on each pill.
