Main content

Is Syria鈥檚 government pushing an addictive party drug?

Dubbed 鈥渢he poor man鈥檚 cocaine鈥, Captagon is sweeping through the Middle East.

A few days ago police in the United Arab Emirates intercepted a huge haul of illegal Captagon pills worth one billion dollars. It鈥檚 an addictive party drug that鈥檚 sweeping across the Middle East.

A 大象传媒 investigation has found that most of the world鈥檚 supply of the drug is coming from Syria - and the trade has links to the highest levels of the Syrian government, something the Assad regime denies. We speak to Emir Nadir, a 大象传媒 journalist, who helped expose the scandal around what鈥檚 sometimes called 鈥渢he poor man鈥檚 cocaine鈥.

Plus, the Women鈥檚 Tennis Association returns to hosting tournaments in China. Has anything changed since it boycotted the country four years ago following the treatment of top player, Peng Shuai?

Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk
WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6
Presenter: Hannah Gelbart
Producers: Alex Rhodes, Julia Ross-Roy and Maria Clara Montoya
Editors: Emily Horler and Simon Peeks

Release date:

Available now

13 minutes

Podcast