Poging GOUD - Vrij

Inside the drug factory Plant produced Captagon pills that enriched regime

The Guardian

|

December 17, 2024

It was no secret: everyone seemed to know where it was. When asked for directions, the coffee vendor pointed up the hill.

- William Christou

Inside the drug factory Plant produced Captagon pills that enriched regime

"The Captagon factory? Straight ahead." On the outskirts of Damascus, just a 20-minute drive from the centre of the Syrian capital, lay a sprawling industrial complex.

Professed to be a soap factory, its products were anything but clean.

Rebels had broken into the complex as they pushed towards the capital city and found millions of Captagon pills and industrial quantities of precursor chemicals.

They had found plastic fruits that, when broken open, would reveal hundreds of tiny pills, along with fake copper coils stuffed with the narcotic and plasterboard with sheets of Captagon stashed inside.

For years, neighbouring states accused Bashar al-Assad's regime of being behind the world's largest Captagon production and export operation a claim it denied.

Jordan and the Gulf states begged the Assad regime to stop sending the drug over its borders, but the flow continued unhindered.

MEER VERHALEN VAN The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian

Check it out How chess has made a move into clubland

One of the liveliest spots on a Tuesday night in Brick Lane, east London, isn't a restaurant or a streetwear pop-up, it's a chess club - or chess club/ nightclub hybrid, to be exact.

time to read

3 mins

November 04, 2025

The Guardian

Image of rare white Iberian lynx captured by amateur photographer

An amateur photographer in southern Spain has captured images of a white Iberian lynx, prompting researchers to investigate whether environmental factors could be at play as wildlife watchers revelled in the rare sighting.

time to read

1 mins

November 04, 2025

The Guardian

'I love Leeds, but the club couldn't afford for me to stay'

Mark Viduka, 25 years on from four goals against Liverpool, on a journey taking in civil war and owning a coffee shop

time to read

5 mins

November 04, 2025

The Guardian

Apec summit Xi shows his lighter side with phone gag

It would take someone with nerves of steel to joke about the security of Chinese smartphones in front of Xi Jinping.

time to read

2 mins

November 04, 2025

The Guardian

'We need a bit of help' Frank urges Spurs fans to hold boos and carry team forwards

Thomas Frank has called for better support from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium crowd after revealing that Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence had apologised to him for their reaction to the 1-0 home defeat against Chelsea on Saturday.

time to read

3 mins

November 04, 2025

The Guardian

Reeves paves way for tax-raising budget with 'tough choices' talk

Chancellor to give candid speech amid pressure to break manifesto pledge

time to read

3 mins

November 04, 2025

The Guardian

The Guardian

Farage backtracks on promise to cut £9obn of taxes as spotlight falls on Reform's credibility

Nigel Farage yesterday retreated from his party's election manifesto promise to cut £90bn of taxes, accusing Labour and the Tories of \"wrecking the public finances\" and saying Reform UK would need to get public spending under control first.

time to read

3 mins

November 04, 2025

The Guardian

AstraZeneca's Wall Street move drives a coach and horses through stamp duty regime

It was one of those votes where the majority was always going to be huge.

time to read

2 mins

November 04, 2025

The Guardian

The Guardian

Power play Fixation on forward rotation risks rugby clashes turning into damp squibs

There was a time in rugby union when the phrase \"Bomb Squad\" felt novel.

time to read

3 mins

November 04, 2025

The Guardian

The Guardian

Attenborough nature series reels in viewers using tricks of TV dramas like Adolescence

David Attenborough's BBC series Kingdom has broken new ground by using the tricks of TV dramas such as Adolescence to immerse viewers in the action with cliffhangers and moving camera shots.

time to read

3 mins

November 04, 2025

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size