Greek authorities have seized what they claim to be the world’s largest single haul of super-charged amphetamine Captagon pills, worth more than half a billion euros, onboard a container ship which arrived from Syria at Port of Piraeus, on Friday, 28 June.
Hellenic Coastguard and drug enforcement officers seized three containers full of the amphetamines, according to data provided by the Greek financial crimes unit (SDOE).
The total recovered amount of Captagon drug tablets amounted 5.25 tonnes, corresponding to just over 33 million Captagon pills, found in the containers shipped from Syria.
The operation involved 20 officers for one week, SDOE said.
It is noted that this quantity is the largest that has ever been seized globally, depriving organized crime of proceeds that would have exceeded $660 million (587.45 million euros),
…the financial crimes unit said in an official statement.
An investigation is underway to identify the persons involved, as well as to determine whether the final destination of the containers was China.
Captagon is one of several brand names for fenethylline hydrochloride, a drug compound belonging to the family of amphetamines, stimulants of the central nervous system.
Captagon is a popular drug in the Arabian Peninsula and in war-torn Syria, Reuters reports.
