Captagon Industry Thrives in Lebanon as Syrian Crisis Paralyzes Authorities
Syrians who trade in captagon have moved their businesses to Lebanon as they are using the country as a major transit route to smuggle the narcotic pills mainly to the Gulf, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Friday.
According to the report, the Syrian traders are using chocolate-producing machines to produce narcotic pills, which manufactures around 700 captagon pills per minute.
The report said that the Syrian suspects didn't move their equipment to Lebanon as smuggling into the country chocolate-producing machines doesn't draw attention and is considered legal.
The traders have allegedly used the Bekaa region as their refuge as it is known for its areas that fall out of the state's control and is also reputable for producing hashish.
The Syrian conflict has paralyzed authorities at home and left the nearby border virtually uncontrolled, allowing the captagon business to flourish.
Captagon dealers, according to the report, are exploiting the chaos along the Lebanese-Syrian border, which makes it easier for them to successfully carry out the smuggling operations.
Al-Joumhouria points out that the Middle East region is the number one consumer of captagon, in particular the Gulf and specifically Saudi Arabia.
The daily also lists the main countries that are considered the key smugglers of captagon to the Middle East, which includes, Bulgaria, Turkey, Belgium, Estonia, New Zealand and Syria.
The report continues that traffickers use Lebanon as a main route to smuggle captagon on to neighboring countries.
Despite it's a risky trade, the daily said that the trade is very profitable with a pill selling for $10.
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