Opinion | The Captagon Seizure And Why It Is Worrisome

Dr G Shreekumar Menon

The seizure of the so-called ‘jihadi drug’ has raised concerns not just about narcotics trafficking, but also about the larger security implications for India.

In a major breakthrough, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for the first time seized a large consignment of Captagon, a highly addictive synthetic drug often referred to as the “jihadi drug" or “poor man’s cocaine".

The seizure has triggered serious concern among security and narcotics enforcement agencies about the presence of this drug in India.

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The drugs, valued at around Rs 182 crore, were recovered from Gujarat’s Mundra Port and Delhi’s Neb Sarai area during a coordinated operation by the NCB. The consignment originated in Syria and was intended for transhipment to destination markets in the Gulf region, particularly Saudi Arabia. The action was carried out under “Operation Ragepill".

Captagon is a highly addictive synthetic amphetamine-type stimulant. Originally a medical brand name for Fenethylline in the 1960s, illicitly manufactured versions today typically contain a dangerous mix of amphetamine, methamphetamine and caffeine. Banned internationally in the 1980s, it is now classified as a ‘controlled substance’ under the UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances.

The trade in the amphetamine-type synthetic stimulant Captagon has become a prominent feature of an illicit network stretching from mainland Europe to the Arab Gulf and the Horn of Africa. In just over six years, it has become one of the most in-demand illicit drugs........

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