Qatar busted an international drug trafficking network and seized four million pills of the illegal stimulant captagon, costing approximately QR112m in what is described as the biggest-ever drugs haul in the country The Ministry of Interior said yesterday that the gang, which was connected with other criminal groups outside the country was trying to promote the illegal drug in Qatar and some other Gulf countries. Captagon is the brand name for a synthetic stimulant called fenethylline, which was invented in the early 1960s. It was banned worldwide but is popular as a recreational drug in many Arab countries. “The suspects were targetting Qatar and another Gulf country but the successful seizure of the material foiled their plans. This was the biggest drug smuggling attempt ever witnessed by the country,” the Ministry said in a statement yesterday. The criminal gang involved in the smuggling attempt was arrested and entire stocks of the drug were seized before they were distributed in the targeted countries, said the Ministry. The gang comprised of nationals of Arab, Gulf and European countries. The operation was carried out by the Drugs Prevention Department at the Ministry in collaboration with the State Security Agency, Preventive Security Department and Rescue (Al Fazaa) Patrols and the General Directorate of Civil Defence and other security agencies in the GCC countries. The Ministry reiterated its commitment to continue its fight against drug trafficking. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=June2009&file=Local_News2009062521146.xml

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