Captagon being caught at the Khartoum airport in Sudan!
Alaa Babiker
Few days ago the Risk Management, Customs Intelligence and Khartoum Airport Customs Forces have plays a great role capturing one of the most dangerous members of the global drug mafia. He is of a Syrian nationality and was the person in charge of entering more than 2.5 million pills of Captagon to Sudan! The Sudanese forces have worked together at a very tight time but with intelligent resources and caught this criminal who was later admitted of this crime and other similar crimes of entering similar pills to Sudan through Khartoum airport. He also admitted that he is internationally wanted and was sentenced at his country to death execution by firing squad. The complete successful operation was mentioned in details at Al-Entibaha Newspaper and was reported by Hajir Suliman, which reflects the progress of the transparency of journalism in Sudan. More news and series are to be followed and put out for public view, and this will help Sudan become stronger and better.
Although the United Nations have a separate office for drug tracking and researching (the Office on Drugs and Crime – UNODC), but the flow of this trade is becoming more and more popular, specially at low and middle income countries, where the need for drug is becoming so common due to social, political, and economic crises that are happening at these countries. I have always wondered why Sudan is becoming the new center for Captagon trafficking?! And why mafia bosses risk their lives to make such trades at an international level, destroying the lives of thousands of youths and ending lives of other more! But I think that the large income of this trade is one reason for them to carry on this mess, but where did the ethic part go?! This Captagon only has eight different types and names, and is responsible for not just addiction, but also the occurrence of many crimes including theft, rape and murder!
Captagon, which its scientific name is Fenethylline, is a pill manufactured from a mixture of Amphetamine, a central nervous system stimulant, and Theophylline. It was first synthesized in 1961, and has since been used to treat children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or as an alternative treatment for narcolepsy and depression. And has some benefits like increasing attention and focus, the motivation of specific activity, the control of some behavioral problems, and improving one’s listening abilities. But the misuse of these pills by healthy individuals will definitely lead to addiction, and the prolonged use causes vigilance for longer times, feeling of great energy, increased feelings of happiness, reducing eating and sleeping hours, strengthens the sexual performance and reduces the problem of premature ejaculation but only temporarily as it leads to serious sexual problems in the future, hallucinations either visual or auditory, and it certainly leads to addiction! Which I believe is the end of a person’s life if not treated properly! As with the excessive and the prolonged use of Captagon causes atrophy of the cerebellum and the nervous system, which causes deformities, permanent disabilities, tremors in the hands, and muscle cramps, in addition to high blood pressure, rapid heart rate, respiratory depression, cardiac arrest, poor health, hysterical behavior without awareness, a tendency to laziness, extreme fatigue, too much sleep and sweating! Unfortunately, we have seen many of our youth going through these symptoms, and the sad news is that we don’t yet have the culture of getting cure of addiction, we need more awareness about the risks of using these pills and other forms of drugs, and the opening of more rehabilitation centers.
From here we thank our Police Forces, the Customs Intelligence Forces, an all who participate at protecting our country from such deadly invasions.