Turkish authorities conducted two drug raids along the Syrian border that have resulted in the confiscation of two metric tons, or nearly 11 million worth, of a drug called Captagon.
Captagon is an amphetamine drug that stimulates the user with increased energy and makes them stay awake for a longer period. It is a popular drug in the Middle East and has been dubbed as the Syrian war drug, allegedly used by fighters in order to keep themselves awake, according to Business Insider.
"Syria is a tremendous problem in that it's a collapsed security sector, because of its porous borders, because of the presence of so many criminal elements and organized networks," said Masood Karimipour, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) regional representative. "There's a great deal of trafficking being done of all sorts of illicit goods - guns, drugs, money, people. But what is being manufactured there and who is doing the manufacturing, that's not something we have visibility into from a distance," he continues, according to the Inquisitr.
Authorities also allegedly found drugs that were set to be smuggled abroad. In one of the raids, 7.3 Captagon pills hidden in 1,300 oil filters was hauled and was reportedly set to be shipped to Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, AFP reported.
Turkish police have yet to confirm if the sales from the drugs are used to buy the weaponry used in the war.