Italian police confiscate $1 billion worth of ‘Islamic State-made’ drugs
The 84 million Captagon tablets were stashed inside three containers investigators discovered at the Salerno port.
In what's being described as “the biggest seizure of amphetamines in the world,” police in southern Italy have confiscated over $1 billion worth of drugs believed to be produced by the Islamic State (IS) in Syria.
The 84 million tablets bearing the Captagon symbol were discovered by police on Wednesday in the port of Salerno, south of Naples. Investigators say the 15-ton haul was stashed in three containers containing large cylindrical paper rolls.
A Twitter video published by Italy’s finance police, known as Guardia di Finanza, showed the pills pouring out of the rolls as agents cut into them with chainsaws.
Guardia di Finanza said IS planned to sell its synthetic drugs on the European market where coronavirus lockdowns have hampered domestic sales. Given the shipment's $1.2 bililion value, investigators believe a consortium of criminal groups were involved in its purchase.
