Italian Police Link €1 Billion Drug Seizure to Islamic State and Mafia
Italian police announced on July 1 the seizure in Salerno of a shipment of the drug Captagon worth over €1 billion. Police said this was the largest seizure of amphetamines in the world, and that the shipment originated in Syria.
The Guardia di Finanza said the seizure of the amphetamine had taken place at the port of Salerno, located south of Naples. The hoard of more than 84 million tablets weighed some 14 tons and was found in a shipment of industrial cylinders, according to authorities.
The Guardia di Finanza said that markings on the drugs were consistent with those used by Islamic State (IS). Though the amphetamine has been linked to IS in the past, some experts doubted that IS had the capacity to produce drugs in such quantities, and stated that Syrian pro-regime entities were more likely responsible.
Whatever the drug’s origins, local authorities told the media that any shipment of this size would likely involve the Mafia. Credit: Guardia di Finanza via Storyful
