Lebanese army seizes 64 million Captagon pills in major bust

The Lebanese army seized about 64 million Captagon pills in one of the country's biggest drug busts during a raid on a facility in the eastern town of Bodai, near Baalbek, it said on Wednesday, Report informs via Xinhua.

Troops also confiscated 79 barrels of chemicals used in drug production and several manufacturing machines, the army said in a statement.

It described the operation as among the most significant on Lebanese soil. The seized materials were handed over to authorities, and efforts are underway to arrest members of the gang behind the facility.

Lebanon has stepped up its crackdown on drug cultivation, production, and smuggling in recent months, killing several major dealers and foiling dozens of operations.

Captagon, the trademark name for the synthetic stimulant fenethylline, was first produced in the 1960s to treat hyperactivity, narcolepsy, and depression. It was banned in most countries in the 1980s as too addictive. Captagon pills remain hugely popular in the Middle East as it is cheap and simple to make.