(Washington Insider Magazine) – Illegal drug manufacturing and distribution is not a crisis exclusive to the United States and Mexico. Drug trafficking has become an international crisis. Countries worldwide have declared war on cocaine and opioids such as fentanyl or amphetamine-type stimulants such as Captagon.
Jordan Drug Bust Update – January 2, 2023
Recently, authorities from the Jordanian Customs Department boasted of a drug bust of 6 million pills of the illegal Captagon drug at the Jordan-Iraq border of Al-Karamah. The 2,200-pound bounty of the amphetamine was discovered inside two refrigerated semi-tractor trailers and smuggled inside packages of date fruit paste.
So far this year, Jordan drug busts have intercepted over 50 million Captagon amphetamine pills smuggled into their county.
Where Did The Jordan Drug Bust Pills Come From?
Neighboring Syria is the global epicenter of Captagon manufacturing and distribution. According to the Center for Operational Analysis and Research (COAR), Syria’s market value for the export of Captagon reached nearly 3 billion USD in 2020.
Initially, Syria produced Captagon to benefit Syria’s anti-state militia groups to help them increase their courage and awake time during fire-fighting. However, as poverty-stricken Syrian citizens turned to the lucrative business of the drug trade, Syria soon developed into a narco-state.
Narco-states are countries whose illegal drug exports exceed any legal exports. Ultimately, a narco-state’s economic and political foundations are ruled by the corrupting wealth and power of the illegal drug trade.
Initially produced in 1961, Captagon was used as an alternative amphetamine to treat narcolepsy and depression. Twenty years later, it was removed from the market for being highly addictive with adverse side effects, including sleep deprivation and blood vessel toxicity.
The “new” highly addictive Captagon pill produced in Syria contains additional detrimental ingredients. While the end-consumer of the drug may experience a feeling of invincibility, Captagon severely affects the delicate circuitry of the brain and can irreversibly impair impulse control and judgment.
Commonly referred to as the “poor man’s cocaine,” each Captagon pill costs a mere 3 cents to produce with a street value of $10-$15 per pill. With a nearly 50,000 percent markup per pill, Jordan’s war against Captagon production in Syria will be hard-fought as it quickly spreads into other regions of the globe.