Fenethylline

Four men were arrested on Wednesday as authorities seized 210 kilograms of cocaine that was transferred from Ecuador to Piraeus port in a container with frozen shrimps.

The case involved an undercover operation lasting at least a month, during which a police agent managed to infiltrate the ranks of the drug ring.

Four people have been arrested after hundreds of kilos of cocaine were found in a container at the port of Piraeus on Wednesday. 

After a 27-year hiatus, an Iraqi TV program banned by Saddam Hussein for its gritty depiction of life under sanctions has returned to portray drug lords thriving in the war-scarred country.

Television viewership in the Middle East traditionally peaks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when the faithful tune in to their favourite shows after breaking their daily fast at sunset.

Türkiye, a key transit point for drug trafficking, has seen a dramatic surge in methamphetamine seizures, reaching an all-time high in 2023, according to the latest report from a monitoring body for the implementation of U.N. drug control conventions.

Nearly 4,000 suspects have been caught in the operations carried out in 11 districts of Istanbul since the new year against suspects found to be involved in the drug trade.

Trade in the amphetamine-type stimulant captagon in the Middle East grew exponentially in 2021 to top $5 billion, posing an increasing health and security risk to the region, a report said.

Research by the New Lines Institute, to be released Tuesday and seen by AFP, paints an alarming picture of the impact booming captagon production is having on the region.

Customs teams confiscated over a ton of Captagon drug pills at the İskenderun Port in southern Turkey, the biggest seizure of its kind, the country's trade minister said on May 16. 

A total of 1,072 kilograms (2,000 pounds) of Captagon drugs - more than 6.2 million pills - were seized during search by customs officials of Hatay province from May 15-16, Mehmet Muş said on Twitter.

Financial crimes investigators in the port of Piraeus on Thursday completed a count of a haul of drugs seized at a container terminal last week, saying it consists of more than 33 million counterfeit Captagon pills, containing the powerful psychostimulant fenethylline.

The haul is the biggest of its kind worldwide and has an estimated street value of 500 million dollars.

Financial crimes investigators in the port city of Piraeus had almost completed the count of a haul of counterfeit drugs seized from a container terminal on Tuesday morning, saying it consists of an estimated 23 million pills of the drug fenetylline, stamped to look like the Captagon brand.

Greek authorities seized a huge number Captagon pills from a freighter at Piraeus port on Wednesday, which may prove to be the largest haul ever achieved in the country.
The drugs were stashed inside 60 pallets loaded with lumber products found in three containers. Officials have so far counted 1.4 million pills in just one of the pallets. Counting is expected to take a few days.