Abu Walid Ezza News Today

Captagon is now Syria's biggest export by far, dwarfing all its legal exports put together, according to estimates drawn from official data. An amphetamine derived from a once-legal treatment for narcolepsy and attention deficit disorder, it has become a huge drug in the Gulf, with Saudi Arabia by far the biggest market

Captagon is now by far Syria's biggest export, dwarfing all its legal exports put together, according to estimates drawn from official data by AFP.

Captagon connection: how Syria became a narco state

A decade of appalling civil war has left Syria fragmented and in ruins but one thing crosses every front line: a drug called captagon.The stimulant -- once notorious for its association with Islamic State fighters -- has spawned an illegal $10 billion industry that not only props up the pariah regime of President Bashar al-Assad, but many of his enemies.It has turned Syria into the world's latest narco state, and sunk deep roots in neighbouring Lebanon as its economy has collapsed.

BEKAA VALLEY, Lebanon: A decade of appalling civil war has left Syria fragmented and in ruins but one thing crosses every front line: a drug called captagon.