Italy Seizes 14 Tons of ISIS-made Amphetamines

Armed police officers stand on duty in Florence, Italy September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Max Rossi
Armed police officers stand on duty in Florence, Italy September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Max Rossi
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Italy Seizes 14 Tons of ISIS-made Amphetamines

Armed police officers stand on duty in Florence, Italy September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Max Rossi
Armed police officers stand on duty in Florence, Italy September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Max Rossi

Italian police said Wednesday they have seized a world record 14-ton haul of amphetamines made by ISIS in Syria.

The drug, in the form of 84 million Captagon tablets, was worth about one billion euros, police said in a statement, describing the operation as "the biggest seizure of amphetamines in the world."

"We know that ISIS finances its terrorist activities mainly by trafficking drugs made in Syria which in the past few years has become the world's largest producer of amphetamines," the statement added, according to Agence France Presse.

The shipment was hidden in three containers found in the port of Salerno, just south of Naples.

Captagon, a brand name, was originally for medical use but illegal versions have been widely used by ISIS militants in combat, the police said.



Italy Says No US Extradition Request for Detained Iranian Businessman So Far

A seagull stands in front of an Italian flag flying at half-mast on the Altare della Patri-Vittorio Emanuele II monument in Rome, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. (AFP Photo)
A seagull stands in front of an Italian flag flying at half-mast on the Altare della Patri-Vittorio Emanuele II monument in Rome, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. (AFP Photo)
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Italy Says No US Extradition Request for Detained Iranian Businessman So Far

A seagull stands in front of an Italian flag flying at half-mast on the Altare della Patri-Vittorio Emanuele II monument in Rome, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. (AFP Photo)
A seagull stands in front of an Italian flag flying at half-mast on the Altare della Patri-Vittorio Emanuele II monument in Rome, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. (AFP Photo)

The United States has not submitted any formal request of extradition for an Iranian businessman Mohammad Abedini detained in Milan, Italy's justice minister said in an interview published on Thursday.
"The matter of Abedini is purely legal ... regardless of the (freeing of Italian journalist) Cecilia Sala. It is premature to talk of extradition, also because no formal request has been sent to our ministry so far," Justice Minister Carlo Nordio told daily La Stampa.
Abedini is wanted by the United States on suspicion of involvement in a drone strike against US forces in Jordan. Iran has denied involvement and said last week the detention of the Iranian national amounted to hostage-taking.
His arrest has been linked to the detention three days later of Italian reporter Cecilia Sala, who was seized in Tehran on Dec. 19 while working under a regular journalistic visa and freed on Jan. 8.