In a video circulating on social media lately, Syrian rebels are proven storming what seems to be a considerable Captagon manufacturing lab.
Rebels are seen expressing their outrage on the manufacturing web site, saying, “A bunch of pigs. All of that is poison, hallucinogenic tablets.”
Captagon, one of many world’s most notorious stimulants, carries a posh legacy with devastating implications for well being, society, and politics.
Initially developed for medical functions, it has turn out to be synonymous with criminality, trafficking, and dependancy within the Middle East. The drug was first produced in 1961 by German pharmaceutical firm Degussa, but it surely shortly remodeled from a remedy for consideration issues and narcolepsy right into a harmful substance with catastrophic penalties.
Fenethylline, the energetic compound in Captagon, was marketed as a milder different to amphetamines. However, its use was banned as its extreme negative effects and excessive dependancy potential grew to become evident.
By the Seventies and Eighties, Captagon gained recognition amongst artists and athletes in France till it was totally prohibited in 1993 attributable to its dangerous results. Today, the drug lies on the core of intensive unlawful operations, primarily within the Middle East, the place it performs a big function in trafficking and terrorism.
Syria as the worldwide middle of Captagon manufacturing
In latest years, Syria has emerged as a world middle for Captagon manufacturing. The nation’s extended civil battle has created fertile floor for the drug’s manufacture, with unlawful factories producing thousands and thousands of tablets yearly.
These are smuggled into Gulf states, together with Saudi Arabia and Jordan. In Saudi Arabia, Captagon is reportedly fashionable amongst truck drivers in search of alertness and is even utilized by youngsters. Despite Islamic fatwas prohibiting its consumption, the drug stays widespread and is typically seen as a survival software in excessive conditions.
Beyond its function in illicit commerce, Captagon inflicts extreme hurt on customers. The stimulant, which mixes theophylline (a substance used to deal with bronchial asthma however with coronary heart rate-accelerating results) and amphetamine (a well known stimulant), induces heightened vitality, euphoria, urge for food suppression, and temper elevation.
However, extended use can result in psychiatric issues reminiscent of paranoia and hallucinations, alongside bodily signs like tachycardia, hypertension, and psychosis.
Captagon dependancy is marked by elevated vitality regardless of sleep deprivation, weight reduction, excessive temper swings, and anxiousness. Over time, these signs worsen, with long-term penalties together with confusion, tremors, and seizures. Currently, there isn’t any antidote for Captagon; remedy is only symptomatic.
Use of Captagon by terrorist teams
Terrorist organizations, together with Hamas, Hezbollah, and ISIS, more and more depend on Captagon each for monetary and operational functions. The drug enhances combatants’ aggression and fearlessness whereas serving as a supply of earnings by way of trafficking. During Operation Swords of Iron, proof of Captagon use was discovered on the our bodies of terrorists, highlighting the drug’s function in fueling violent acts.
The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria may considerably alter the area’s Captagon commerce. Assad’s authorities has relied on Captagon manufacturing to maintain its economic system amid worldwide sanctions. Illegal drug factories, typically linked to terrorist teams and regional smuggling networks, are a serious income for the regime.
Regime change may disrupt industrial-scale Captagon manufacturing and dismantle its distribution community.
