ITALIAN COPS SEIZE €1-B DRUGS LINKED TO ISLAMIC STATE, 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 claimed the shipment originated in Syria, Storyful reported on July 2, 2020.

The Guardia di Finanza disclosed the seizure took 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.

Guardia di Finanza added 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.