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UAE Seizes Billion Dollar Amphetamine Haul
BBC ^ | 9/14

Posted on 09/14/2023 1:33:50 PM PDT by nickcarraway

By Mattea Bubalo BBC News Police in the United Arab Emirates have seized 13 tonnes of amphetamine pills smuggled in furniture.

More than $1bn (£810m) worth of the drug known as Captagon were found after officers were alerted to a suspicious looking shipping container.

A video showed Dubai police tearing open wooden panels and doors where 86 million pills were hidden.

Dubbed "the poor man's cocaine", Captagon is reportedly one of the most popular drugs among youths in the Gulf.

The police did not mention the suspected origin of the illegal shipment, but Captagon is believed to be produced in huge quantities in Syria.

At the height of the country's civil war armed groups supplied the drug to fighters - which is highly addictive and often laced with caffeine - to boost their courage.

Deepening poverty is said to have forced many ordinary Syrians to become involved in the illegal Captagon trade, which is worth billions of dollars.

Although there have been denials from the Syrian government, reports have linked powerful figures in business and the military to the manufacturing and distribution of Captagon.

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: amphetamine; drugs; uae

1 posted on 09/14/2023 1:33:50 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Bet the UAE doesn’t monkey around when it comes to sentencing drug dealers.


2 posted on 09/14/2023 1:35:51 PM PDT by packagingguy
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To: packagingguy

https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/courts/2021/11/28/uaes-new-drug-laws-cut-sentences-and-end-mandatory-deportation-for-expats/

The UAE has overhauled its drug laws to cut minimum sentences, provide leniency for first-time offenders and put a sharper focus on rehabilitation over punishment.


3 posted on 09/14/2023 1:38:46 PM PDT by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: nickcarraway

Captagon: Patpong party drug. Went well with Mekong whiskey


4 posted on 09/14/2023 1:38:56 PM PDT by LeoWindhorse
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To: nickcarraway

Probably sold to the resident workers who are often paid peanuts.


5 posted on 09/14/2023 1:44:53 PM PDT by Blood of Tyrants ( "It is easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled."- Mark Twain)
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To: nickcarraway

RE: smuggled in furniture.

When the blues rock band Canned Heat was in their prime their manager made secret deals they didn’t know about. Thousands of dollars of drugs were hidden in their new speakers and other sound equipment arriving in crates.
The manager kept telling them they got new equipment every few months as a perk of deals he negotiated.

Another time the band was being carefully watched and targeted by local police for drugs. At night the cops swept the hotel rooms and made some arrests for small amounts.

One young woman was alone in a room with a large brick of brown hashish on the dresser, its aluminum foil opened. She thought she was going to jail for the musician’s dope. The inexperienced young officer spoke to her about how she seemed to be a nice girl and she should go home to her parents and stop thinking hanging out with these bearded hippies was cool because they will only get her in trouble. She should avoid them and not ruin her life.

As he started to leave he turned and said “And we’re taking those guys to jail now. You’re gonna have to eat that big chocolate bar up there all by yourself. Good night.”


6 posted on 09/14/2023 1:48:13 PM PDT by frank ballenger (You have summoned up a thundercloud. You're gonna hear from me. Anthem by Leonard Cohen)
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To: packagingguy
Bet the UAE doesn’t monkey around when it comes to sentencing drug dealers.

Was a contractor in UAE years ago. One of the other contractors set up a beer making rig in his apartment and shared some of the beer with local workers. One night he gets a call. The voice on the phone tells him that the police know and are on the way to his place. He had to make an emergency trip to the airport and literally escape the country with his family.
7 posted on 09/14/2023 1:51:49 PM PDT by know.your.why
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To: packagingguy

UAB probably doesn’t want the poor man’s cocaine interfering with their main opium racket.


8 posted on 09/14/2023 1:54:35 PM PDT by Tell It Right (1st Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
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To: PeterPrinciple

I heard that the Rehab is a short plan.

Only 9MM wide, 19MM long and is pointed in one direction.


9 posted on 09/14/2023 2:36:10 PM PDT by mabarker1 ( (Congress- the opposite of PROGRESS!!! A fraud, a hypocrite, a liar. I'm a member of Congress!!!)
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To: nickcarraway

or one month of Bidens supplyy


10 posted on 09/14/2023 2:47:34 PM PDT by al baby (I know its the way the measure the cooling capability )
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To: nickcarraway

CIA must be really pissed.


11 posted on 09/14/2023 2:55:17 PM PDT by RetiredTexasVet (Biden not only suffers fools and criminals, he appoints them to positions of responsibility. )
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To: packagingguy

Yup,people are gonna be getting a very close haircut.


12 posted on 09/14/2023 3:39:36 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Two Words: BANANA REPUBLIC!)
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To: nickcarraway

Captagon is a drug product which contains a molecule which when metabolized by the enzymes in the body produce amphetamine and theophylline. Theophylline is a chemical brother of caffeine but has less psychostimulant effect than caffeine. Has good bronchodilation effect which is why it was used to treat asthma for a long time. Amphetamine effects are well known.
It is illegal in many countries but made by Syrian producers. Supplies big cash for Assad. Sometimes the counterfeit pills have extra caffeine. Overdoses of caffeine and theophylline can cause cardiac rhythm disturbances and if levels are real high, the seizures they cause are difficult to control...
Theobromine, a compound found in cocoa ,chocolate, and cola, is a sister of both caffeine and theophylline..has mild psychostimulant effects. Dogs and cats metabolize it slowly and dogs can eat lots of chocolate...and can die if not treated aggressively. Cats usually don’t eat much chocolate but it is toxic to them also.
Aren’t drugs (or chemical compounds) just wonderful?
Good thing people are really careful of what they put down their gullet or shoot into their veins, or inhale.


13 posted on 09/14/2023 7:46:40 PM PDT by Getready (Wisdom is more valuable than gold and harder to find.)
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