How the Captagon Trade is Bolstering Iran and its Web of Militias

SANA’A, YEMEN – JUNE 26: Yemeni security members participate in destroying narcotic drugs, seized in past 6-month of this year, during a destruction ceremony to commemorate International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, on June 26, 2022 in Sana’a, Yemen. Security authorities run by Yemen’s Houthi movement in Sana’a, burned and destroyed over than 40 tons of confiscated narcotics and some two million captagon pills, in the International Day Against Drug, staged by the United Nations annually on June 26 to raise awareness of the major problem that illicit drugs and its affects on the society. (Photo by Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)

Posted: December 4th, 2023

SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — In the days after Hamas fighters launched a terrorist attack in Israel in October, an illicit amphetamine known as Captagon was reportedly found in the pockets of deceased Hamas terrorists. The discovery sparked speculation that the drug may have fueled the devastating onslaught, potentially enabling the terrorists to execute their horrific attack with a capricious feeling of elation.

Israeli security forces have repeatedly circumvented operations to smuggle thousands of Captagon pills from the West Bank into Gaza. But for every seizure, there are likely multiple successful deliveries.

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